Sample records for gazprom ma europu

This paper adds to the ongoing discussion of Gazprom's role in Russia by placing the debate around Gazprom within the broader contexts of both the increasing prevalence of national oil companies in the world and the changing natural gas landscape. It assesses how the interplay between politics and profits has affected the way Gazprom can adapt to a rapidly changing world natural gas environment and how both the Kremlin and Gazprom are adjusting---or failing to adjust---their strategies accordingly. It concludes that Gazprom and the Kremlin are both adjusting to changes in the world natural gas environment, but they are doing so in their own ways, but given the affects the actions of one has on the other, the pace of adaptation is slower than what we might see with an entirely independent firm. The paper begins with a discussion of the tradeoffs inherent in Gazprom's relationship with the Kremlin. It identifies various factors at work politically that prevent Gazprom from profiting in the domestic economy. Primary among these factors are entrenched rent-seeking interests and philosophies about natural resources, as well as geopolitical interests. The paper identifies the 2006 and 2009 gas disputes with Ukraine as evidence of Kremlin interference in Gazprom's commercial activities and concrete examples of the boundaries between these two entities as well as the seeming blurring of these boundaries. The paper then moves into a discussion of increased volatility and risk in Gazprom's primary export market, Europe. The systemic context of a discussion of Gazprom today must include factors such as increased supply options for Europe that make natural gas a more fungible commodity than in the past and new legislation aimed at promoting energy independence via the development of a competitive natural gas market. This new context threatens Gazprom's ability to mitigate price risk in its export market, which in turn makes providing for the domestic market through gas rents

The Gazprom RAO [Russian joint-stock company] is a major industrial and financial complex whose job is to provide gas for the national economy of Russia, as well as to supply it under international and intergovernmental agreements. The existing capacity of its production structures and high level of scientific potential allow Gazprom to forecast the future with confidence.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, many have accused Russia of using its energy monopoly Gazprom as a foreign policy tool in Europe. Those who believe this point to three gas disputes between Russia and Ukraine, which they see as punishment for Ukraine's democratic reforms. However, this argument fails to consider Gazprom's actions in terms of its goals of a corporation. This paper shows, through qualitative research and interviews, that Gazprom has goals independent of Russian foreign policy objectives, and that the company has embraced corporate values at a time when Russia is moving away from western liberal ideals.

Charges of imperialism underpinned by coercive economic tactics are some of the accusations leveled against Vladimir Putin's foreign energy policy during his presidential tenure. However, after the traditional policies of coercion failed to secure Russian interests in Europe during the 1990's, this dissertation argues Putin adopted a radically different approach upon his rise to the Presidency. Driven by public demand to continue the domestic subsidization of natural gas and realizing that the chief avenue for securing revenue was in gas sales to Europe, this project suggests that Putin developed a new foreign energy policy approach meant to secure Russian interests. This transformation was accomplished by the Presidential Administration's efforts during Putin's tenure to bring the Russian natural gas monopoly, Gazprom, under its control. Dubbed Persuasive Politics, this paradigm suggests that the foreign energy policies of the Presidential Administration and Gazprom during Putin's tenure were underpinned by the rational economic argument that the only route to Russian resurgence in the medium term was through profitable economic relations with the European states. To test this theoretical approach the author employs a case study analysis of Russian relations with the European Union member state Greece as well as the non-EU state of Ukraine. The intent is to identify how a mutually beneficial relationship was constructed to persuade both governments through the utilization of economic inducements that cooperation with Russia in the natural gas sphere was in their own best interest.

The Space Exploration Division of the Safety and Mission Assurances Directorate is responsible for reducing the risk to Human Space Flight Programs by providing system safety, reliability, and risk analysis. The Risk & Reliability Analysis branch plays a part in this by utilizing Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) and Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) tools to identify possible types of failure and effective solutions. A continuous effort of this branch is MaRS, or Mass and Reliability System, a tool that was the focus of this internship. Future long duration space missions will have to find a balance between the mass and reliability of their spare parts. They will be unable take spares of everything and will have to determine what is most likely to require maintenance and spares. Currently there is no database that combines mass and reliability data of low level space-grade components. MaRS aims to be the first database to do this. The data in MaRS will be based on the hardware flown on the International Space Stations (ISS). The components on the ISS have a long history and are well documented, making them the perfect source. Currently, MaRS is a functioning excel workbook database; the backend is complete and only requires optimization. MaRS has been populated with all the assemblies and their components that are used on the ISS; the failures of these components are updated regularly. This project was a continuation on the efforts of previous intern groups. Once complete, R&M engineers working on future space flight missions will be able to quickly access failure and mass data on assemblies and components, allowing them to make important decisions and tradeoffs.

Color image of Ma'adim Vallis region of Mars; north toward top. Image shows the 600-km-long channel that drained into impact crater Gusev. Crater Gusev is about 160 km in diameter. This image is a composite of Viking medium-resolution images in black and white and low-resolution images in color. The image extends from latitude 13 degrees S. to 29 degrees S. and from longitude 180 degrees to 188 degrees; Mercator projection. Ma'adim Vallis is cut into the degraded highlands of Mars and has morphologic characteristics of terrestrial river beds, including the well-developed dentritic tributaries that constitute an integrated river system. However, the junction angles between tributaries commonly show a wide variation, which gives the channel system a more random directional pattern than typical terrestrial drainage networks. Topographic contours suggest a large drainage basin once existed for this channel. Gradients for the channel are high, about 0.007, over the central 300 km of its length; this is about two times that of the upper 450 km of the Colorado River. In places, some tributaries are discontinuous, perhaps indicating burial by more recent material. After the channel breaches Gusev it appears to end within the crater. Termination may have resulted from burial by younger deposits or perhaps the flow percolated into the surface materials and continued underground.

Methods and composition for the production of non-flowering or late flowering sorghum hybrid. For example, in certain aspects methods for use of molecular markers that constitute the Ma5/Ma6 pathway to modulate photoperiod sensitivity are described. The invention allows the production of plants having improved productivity and biomass generation.

This final report for Project 117863 summarizes progress made toward understanding how X-pinch load designs scale to high currents. The X-pinch load geometry was conceived in 1982 as a method to study the formation and properties of bright x-ray spots in z-pinch plasmas. X-pinch plasmas driven by 0.2 MA currents were found to have source sizes of 1 micron, temperatures >1 keV, lifetimes of 10-100 ps, and densities >0.1 times solid density. These conditions are believed to result from the direct magnetic compression of matter. Physical models that capture the behavior of 0.2 MA X pinches predict more extreme parameters at currents >1 MA. This project developed load designs for up to 6 MA on the SATURN facility and attempted to measure the resulting plasma parameters. Source sizes of 5-8 microns were observed in some cases along with evidence for high temperatures (several keV) and short time durations (<500 ps).

Experiment MA-011, electrophoresis technology, was designed to test electrophoresis hardware that would continue the development of technology for electrophoretic separation of materials in the near zero g environment of space. The experimental hardware generally functioned as planned. Frozen live cells were successfully transported into space, electrophoretic processing was performed, and viable cells were returned to earth. A separation of the three types of fixed red blood cells (rabbit, human, and horse) was demonstrated. The human lymphocytes, however, showed no apparent migration. The separation of human kidney cells produced the most exciting data. Analysis shows electrophoretic separation throughout the entire column with at least four bands of viable cells. The isotachophoresis experiment definitely demonstrated the isotachophoretic separation of biological cells in a near zero g environment.

The Pulsar Machine II (PuMa-II) is a state of the art pulsar machine-installed at the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), in December 2005. PuMa-II is a flexible instrument and is designed around an ensemble of 44 high-performance computers running the Linux operating system. Much of the flexibility of PuMa-II comes from the software that is being developed for this instrument. The radio signals reaching the telescope undergo several stages of electronic and software processing before a scientifically useful data product is generated. The electronic processing of signals includes the usual RF to IF conversion, analogue to digital conversion and telescope dependent electronic digital delay compensation that happen in the signal chain of WSRT. Within PuMa-II, this data is acquired, stored and suitably processed. In this poster we present various aspects of PuMa-II software and illustrate its pulsar signal processing capabilities.

We have designed and constructed PuMa, a pulsar machine that has both a baseband recording and a digital filterbank mode. Its design is based on the use of digital signal processors (DSPs). Their operation is controlled by software, which makes PuMa reconfigurable, flexible and easy to operate. The maximum number of channels in the digital filterbank mode is 32 768 over a bandwidth of 80 MHz. This makes PuMa suitable for pulsar observations at low sky frequencies. The maximum bandwidth in baseband recording mode is two times 10 MHz. The machine was installed at the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope in The Netherlands in 1998. We discuss in some detail PuMa's technical properties and capabilities. Recent observations, a sample of which are presented here, demonstrate its capabilities and that it is performing up to its specifications.

This study was conducted to determine if oral administration of the novel herbal medicine, MA, and its Lactobacillus acidophilus fermented product, MA128, have therapeutic properties for the treatment of asthma. Asthma was induced in BALB/c mice by systemic sensitization to ovalbumin (OVA) followed by intratracheal, intraperitoneal, and aerosol allergen challenges. MA and MA128 were orally administered 6 times a week for 4 weeks. At 1 day after the last ovalbumin exposure, airway hyperresponsiveness was assessed and samples of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, lung cells, and serum were collected for further analysis. We investigated the effect of MA and MA128 on airway hyperresponsiveness, pulmonary eosinophilic infiltration, various immune cell phenotypes, Th2 cytokine production, OVA-specific IgE production, and Th1/Th2 cytokine production in this mouse model of asthma. In BALB/c mice, we found that MA and MA128 treatment suppressed eosinophil infiltration into airways and blood, allergic airway inflammation and AHR by suppressing the production of IL-5, IL-13, IL-17, Eotaxin, and OVA-specific IgE, by upregulating the production of OVA-specific Th1 cytokine (IFN-γ), and by downregulating OVA-specific Th2 cytokine (IL-4) in the culture supernatant of spleen cells. The effectiveness of MA was increased by fermentation with Lactobacillus acidophilus. PMID:22203879

The 22 slides in this presentation treat the subject under the following headings: MaRIE XFEL Performance Parameters, Input Electron Beam Parameters, Undulator Design, Genesis Simulations, Risks, and Summary It is concluded that time-dependent Genesis simulations show the MaRIE XFEL can deliver the number of photons within the required bandwidth, provided a number of assumptions are met; the highest risks are associated with the electron beam driving the XFEL undulator; and risks associated with the undulator and/or distributed seeding technique may be evaluated or retired by performing early validation experiments.

This is a still from an animation showing the geography of Ma'adim Vallis, a valley or channel that enters Gusev Crater. The view of the crater is from the northwest, which is not the direction from which Spirit approached the crater as it landed.

While the worldwide prevalence of cocaine use remains significant, medications, or small molecule approaches, to treat drug addictions have met with limited success. Anti-addiction vaccines, on the other hand, have demonstrated great potential for treating drug abuse using a distinctly different mechanism of eliciting an antibody response that blocks the pharmacological effects of drugs. We provide a review of vaccine-based approaches to treating stimulant addictions; specifically and cocaine addictions. This selective review article focuses on the one cocaine vaccine that has been into clinical trials and presents new data related to pre-clinical development of a methamphetamine (MA) vaccine. We also review the mechanism of action for vaccine induced antibodies to abused drugs, which involves kinetic slowing of brain entry as well as simple blocking properties. We present pre-clinical innovations for MA vaccines including hapten design, linkage to carrier proteins and new adjuvants beyond alum. We provide some new information on hapten structures and linkers and variations in protein carriers. We consider a carrier, outer membrance polysaccharide coat protein (OMPC), that provides some self-adjuvant through lipopolysaccharide components and provide new results with a monophosopholipid adjuvant for the more standard carrier proteins with cocaine and MA. The review then covers the clinical trials with the cocaine vaccine TA-CD. The clinical prospects for advances in this field over the next few years include a multi-site cocaine vaccine clinical trial to be reported in 2013 and phase 1 clinical trials of a MA vaccine in 2014.

A successful fabrication schedule has been developed at Carpenter Technology Corporation for the production of MA957 fuel and blanket cladding. Difficulties with gun drilling, plug drawing and recrystallization were overcome to produce a pilot lot of tubing. This report documents the fabrication efforts of two qualified vendors and the support studies performed at WHC to develop the fabrication-schedule.

... ADMINISTRATION Massachusetts Disaster MA-00035 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is a notice of an Administrative declaration of a disaster for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dated 06/29/2011. Incident: Johnsonia Apartment Building Fire Incident Period:...

... ADMINISTRATION Massachusetts Disaster MA-00033 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is a notice of an Administrative declaration of a disaster for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dated 05/19/2011. Incident: Apartment Building Fire. Incident Period: 04/30/2011. Effective...

... ADMINISTRATION Massachusetts Disaster MA-00047 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is a notice of an Administrative declaration of a disaster for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dated 02/21/2012. Incident: Brookline Apartment Building Fire. Incident Period:...

... ADMINISTRATION Massachusetts Disaster MA-00030 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is a notice of an Administrative declaration of a disaster for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dated 12/07/2010. Incident: Apartment complex fire. Incident Period: 11/21/2010. Effective...

... ADMINISTRATION Massachusetts Disaster MA-00024 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is a notice of an Administrative declaration of a disaster for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dated 01/15/2010. Incident: Mystic Side Estates Apartment Building Fire. Incident Period:...

... ADMINISTRATION Massachusetts Disaster MA-00048 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is a notice of an Administrative declaration of a disaster for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dated 05/29/2012. Incident: Lake Williams Condominium Complex Fire. Incident Period:...

...] [FR Doc No: 2012-31302] SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION [Disaster Declaration 13420 and 13421] Massachusetts Disaster MA-00051 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is a notice of an Administrative declaration of a disaster for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dated...

... From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Massachusetts Disaster MA-00054 AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Notice...: 01/21/2014. ADDRESSES: Submit completed loan applications to: U.S. Small Business...

The Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) Directorate is responsible for mitigating risk, providing system safety, and lowering risk for space programs from ground to space. The S&MA is divided into 4 divisions: The Space Exploration Division (NC), the International Space Station Division (NE), the Safety & Test Operations Division (NS), and the Quality and Flight Equipment Division (NT). The interns, myself and Arun Aruljothi, will be working with the Risk & Reliability Analysis Branch under the NC Division's. The mission of this division is to identify, characterize, diminish, and communicate risk by implementing an efficient and effective assurance model. The team utilizes Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) and Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) to ensure decisions concerning risks are informed, vehicles are safe and reliable, and program/project requirements are realistic and realized. This project pertains to the Orion mission, so it is geared toward a long duration Human Space Flight Program(s). For space missions, payload is a critical concept; balancing what hardware can be replaced by components verse by Orbital Replacement Units (ORU) or subassemblies is key. For this effort a database was created that combines mass and reliability data, called Mass and Reliability System or MaRS. The U.S. International Space Station (ISS) components are used as reference parts in the MaRS database. Using ISS components as a platform is beneficial because of the historical context and the environment similarities to a space flight mission. MaRS uses a combination of systems: International Space Station PART for failure data, Vehicle Master Database (VMDB) for ORU & components, Maintenance & Analysis Data Set (MADS) for operation hours and other pertinent data, & Hardware History Retrieval System (HHRS) for unit weights. MaRS is populated using a Visual Basic Application. Once populated, the excel spreadsheet is comprised of information on ISS components including

Impact events have played an important role in the evolution of planets and small bodies in the Solar System. Meteorites, lunar melt rocks, and lunar impact glasses provide important information about the geology of the parent body and the age of the impacting episodes. Over 2400 impact glasses from 4 Apollo regolith samples have been geochemically analyzed and a subset has been dated by the (40)Ar/(39)Ar method. New results, consistent with 2 break-ups in the Asteroid Belt, are presented here. Our previous study reported that (40)Ar/(39)Ar ages from 9 impact glasses showed that the Moon experienced significant impacts at approx. 800 Ma and at approx. 3800 Ma ago, somewhere in the vicinity of the Apollo 16 landing site. Additionally, reported on Apollo 12 samples with ages around 800 Ma, together implying global bombardment events. New data on 7 glasses from regolith sample 66041,127 show that the Moon also experienced impact events at approx. 300 Ma and > 500 Ma ago, which may coincide with the break-ups in the Asteroid Belt of the L- and H-chrondrite parent bodies. Since meteoritic evidence for these breakups has been found on Earth, it follows that evidence should be found in lunar samples as well. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.

The oldest known occurrence in North America of an ophiolite, considered to be a piece of ancient ocean crust, has been reported in the Cape Smith Belt in northern Quebec, Canada.The recognition last summer of a key structural component of the characteristic ophiolite suite has buttressed confidence in the theory that the 1900-Ma fragments of an ocean basin were accreted to an early Proterozoic Canadian continent. The tectonic mixing of oceanic and continental crust is strong evidence for the operation of plate tectonics early in Earth's history.

Los Alamos National Laboratory’s proposed MaRIE facility is slated to introduce the world’s highest energy hard x-ray free electron laser (XFEL). As the light source for the Matter-Radiation Interactions in Extremes experimental facility (MaRIE), the 42-keV XFEL, with bursts of x-ray pulses at gigahertz repetition for studying fast dynamical processes, will help accelerate discovery and design of the advanced materials needed to meet 21st-century national security and energy security challenges. Yet the science of free-electron lasers has a long and distinguished history at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), where for nearly four decades Los Alamos scientists have been performing research, design, development, and collaboration work in FEL science. The work at Los Alamos has evolved from low-gain amplifier and oscillator FEL development to highbrightness photoinjector development, and later, self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) and high-gain amplifier FEL development.

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase (ACS) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase (ACO) are encoded by multigene families and are involved in fruit ripening by catalyzing the production of ethylene throughout the development of fruit. However, there are no reports on ACS or ACO genes in mulberry, partly because of the limited molecular research background. In this study, we have obtained five ACS gene sequences and two ACO gene sequences from Morus Genome Database. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis of MaACO1 and MaACO2 showed that their amino acids are conserved compared with ACO proteins from other species. MaACS1 and MaACS2 are type I, MaACS3 and MaACS4 are type II, and MaACS5 is type III, with different C-terminal sequences. Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) expression analysis showed that the transcripts of MaACS genes were strongly expressed in fruit, and more weakly in other tissues. The expression of MaACO1 and MaACO2 showed different patterns in various mulberry tissues. MaACS and MaACO genes demonstrated two patterns throughout the development of mulberry fruit, and both of them were strongly up-regulated by abscisic acid (ABA) and ethephon.

Highlights: • Seven NuMA isoforms generated by alternative splicing were categorized into 3 groups: long, middle and short. • Both exons 15 and 16 in long NuMA were “hotspot” for alternative splicing. • Lower expression of short NuMA was observed in cancer cells compared with nonneoplastic controls. • Distinct localization pattern of short isoforms indicated different function from that of long and middle NuMA. - Abstract: The large nuclear mitotic apparatus (NuMA) has been investigated for over 30 years with functions related to the formation and maintenance of mitotic spindle poles during mitosis. However, the existence and functions of NuMA isoforms generated by alternative splicing remains unclear. In the present work, we show that at least seven NuMA isoforms (categorized into long, middle and short groups) generated by alternative splicing from a common NuMA mRNA precursor were discovered in HeLa cells and these isoforms differ mainly at the carboxyl terminus and the coiled-coil domains. Two “hotspot” exons with molecular mass of 3366-nt and 42-nt tend to be spliced during alternative splicing in long and middle groups. Furthermore, full-length coding sequences of long and middle NuMA obtained by using fusion PCR were constructed into GFP-tagged vector to illustrate their cellular localization. Long NuMA mainly localized in the nucleus with absence from nucleoli during interphase and translocated to the spindle poles in mitosis. Middle NuMA displayed the similar cell cycle-dependent distribution pattern as long NuMA. However, expression of NuMA short isoforms revealed a distinct subcellular localization. Short NuMA were present in the cytosol during the whole cycle, without colocalization with mitotic apparatus. These results have allowed us tentatively to explore a new research direction for NuMA’s various functions.

Energy Recovery Linacs (ERL) are important for a variety of applications, from high-power Free-Electron Lasers (FEL) to polarized-electron polarized-proton colliders. The ERL current is arguably the most important characteristic of ERLs for such applications. With that in mind, the Collider-Accelerator Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory embarked on the development of a 300 mA ERL to serve as an R and D test-bed for high-current ERL technologies. These include high-current, extremely well damped superconducting accelerating cavities, high-current superconducting laser-photocathode electron guns and high quantum-efficiency photocathodes. In this presentation I will cover these ERL related developments.

Ephedrine and its metabolites are naturally occurring alkaloids that can be derived from evergreens worldwide and have been used as medicinals for hundreds of years. Because they have "real" pharmacological alpha and beta catecholamine effects and are "natural" products, the alternative medicine industry has popularized them for multiple uses, including asthma, weight loss, energy and sexual enhancement, and euphoria. Several recent reviews have documented the dangerous nature of using these "drugs" unsupervised, including multiple deaths, and the FDA is currently reviewing ephedrine's use in the alternative medicine industry. We report a new toxicity, ephedrine nephrolithiasis, in a patient using an energy supplement, Ma-Huang extract, which contains ephedrine. Although previously not reported, the Louis C. Herring and Company kidney stone database show that this is an endemic complication of ephedrine with hundreds of previous episodes. Using gas chromatography (GC) mass spectrometry, we were able to positively identify the chemical structure of our patient's stone, as well as other similar stones from Louis Herring, as containing ephedrine, norephedrine, and pseudoephedrine.

Objectives: 1) Optimize S&MA organization to best facilitate Shuttle transition in 2010, successfully support Ares developmental responsibilities, and minimize the impacts of the gap between last Shuttle flight and start of Ares V Project. 2) Improve leveraging of critical skills and experience between Shuttle and Ares. 3) Split technical and supervisory functions to facilitate technical penetration. 4) Create Chief Safety and Mission Assurance Officer (CSO) stand-alone position for successfully implementation of S&MA Technical Authority. 5) Minimize disruption to customers. 6) Provide early involvement of S&MA leadership team and frequent/open communications with S&MA team members and steak-holders.

The MA protein from HIV-1 is a small, multifunctional protein responsible for regulating various stages of the viral replication cycle. To achieve its diverse tasks MA interacts with host cell proteins and it has been reported that one of these is the ubiquitous calcium -sensing calmodulin (CaM) which is up-regulated upon HIV-1 infection. The nature of the CaM-MA interaction has been the subject of structural studies using peptides based on the MA sequence that have led to conflicting conclusions. The results presented here show that CaM binds intact MA with 1:1 stoichiometry in a Ca2+-dependent manner and that the complex adopts a highly extended conformation in solution as revealed by small-angle X-ray scattering. Alterations in tryptophan fluorescence suggest that the two tryptophans at the N-terminus of MA mediate the CaM interaction. Major chemical shift changes occur in the NMR spectrum of MA upon complex formation, while chemical shift changes in the CaM spectrum are quite modest and are assigned to residues within the target-protein binding hydrophobic clefts of CaM. The NMR data indicate that CaM binds MA via its N-and C-terminal lobes and induces a dramatic conformational change involving a significant loss of secondary and tertiary structure within MA. Circular dichroism experiments suggest that MA looses ~20% of its α-helical content upon CaM binding. Thus CaM binding is expected to impact upon the accessibility of interaction sites within MA that are involved in its various functions. PMID:20488189

Phytohormone ethylene controls diverse developmental and physiological processes such as fruit ripening via modulation of ethylene signaling pathway. Our previous study identified that ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR11 (MaERF11), a transcription factor in the ethylene signaling pathway, negatively regulates the ripening of banana, but the mechanism for the MaERF11-mediated transcriptional regulation remains largely unknown. Here we showed that MaERF11 has intrinsic transcriptional repression activity in planta. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses demonstrated that MaERF11 binds to promoters of three ripening-related Expansin genes, MaEXP2, MaEXP7 and MaEXP8, as well as an ethylene biosynthetic gene MaACO1, via the GCC-box motif. Furthermore, expression patterns of MaACO1, MaEXP2, MaEXP7, and MaEXP8 genes are correlated with the changes of histone H3 and H4 acetylation level during fruit ripening. Moreover, we found that MaERF11 physically interacts with a histone deacetylase, MaHDA1, which has histone deacetylase activity, and the interaction significantly strengthens the MaERF11-mediated transcriptional repression of MaACO1 and Expansins. Taken together, these findings suggest that MaERF11 may recruit MaHDA1 to its target genes and repress their expression via histone deacetylation. PMID:27208241

This software is provided by the Mars Relay Operations Service (MaROS) task to a variety of Mars projects for the purpose of coordinating communications sessions between landed spacecraft assets and orbiting spacecraft assets at Mars. The Information Management Service centralizes a set of functions previously distributed across multiple spacecraft operations teams, and as such, greatly improves visibility into the end-to-end strategic coordination process. Most of the process revolves around the scheduling of communications sessions between the spacecraft during periods of time when a landed asset on Mars is geometrically visible by an orbiting spacecraft. These relay sessions are used to transfer data both to and from the landed asset via the orbiting asset on behalf of Earth-based spacecraft operators. This software component is an application process running as a Java virtual machine. The component provides all service interfaces via a Representational State Transfer (REST) protocol over https to external clients. There are two general interaction modes with the service: upload and download of data. For data upload, the service must execute logic specific to the upload data type and trigger any applicable calculations including pass delivery latencies and overflight conflicts. For data download, the software must retrieve and correlate requested information and deliver to the requesting client. The provision of this service enables several key advancements over legacy processes and systems. For one, this service represents the first time that end-to-end relay information is correlated into a single shared repository. The software also provides the first multimission latency calculator; previous latency calculations had been performed on a mission-by-mission basis.

... Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Iv-General § 308.550 Certificate, Form MA-320. Wherever any provision of this... MA-320-C for a corporation, which forms may be obtained from the American War Risk Agency or MARAD....

Tectonic or climate signals that originate in net-erosional catchments are transmitted down-system as sediment. The accumulation of that sediment in net-depositional regions and preservation as stratigraphy can be accessed and used to reconstruct signal generation and propagation. Studies of modern to <20 ka sedimentary systems suggest that signal propagation (or lack thereof) is, in part, controlled by the size, relief, and other morphologic characteristics of sediment-production segments. Thus, it's critical to measure, estimate, or infer aspects of the feeder catchment when reconstructing system behavior from sedimentary deposits. Here, we present results from two studies aimed at determining paleo-sediment flux from stratigraphic archives. The first study uses outcropping middle Pleistocene (~0.6 Ma) alluvial-fan deposits in the Panamint Mountains, California, to investigate the relationship of sediment supply to stratigraphic architecture in a small catchment-fan system. The youth of this system allows us to estimate fan volumes from facies architecture and depositional system dimensions based on catchment-area to fan-area relationships of nearby modern systems. These data, combined with preliminary cosmogenic radionuclide-derived paleo-denudation rates, provide an opportunity to examine the nature of erosional signal propagation. The second study examines much older, Upper Mississippian (~325 Ma), fluvial and deltaic strata. Absolute chronologic tools to calculate centennial-millennial rates in deep-time sedimentary archives do not yet exist. Here, we use the extraordinary tidal rhythmite deposits of the Pride Shale in the Appalachian Basin as a high-resolution chronometer to constrain the duration of basin filling. We then use the scale of fluvial channel bodies in the underlying and overlying units combined with climate-specific empirical relationships derived from modern systems to estimate the size of the paleo-catchment. The resultant estimates of

Sapphire fiber-reinforced MA956 composites hold promise for significant weight savings and increased high-temperature structural capability, as compared to unreinforced MA956. As part of an overall assessment of the high-temperature characteristics of this material system, cyclic oxidation behavior was studied at 1093 C and 1204 C. Initially, both sets of coupons exhibited parabolic oxidation kinetics. Later, monolithic MA956 exhibited spallation and a linear weight loss, whereas the composite showed a linear weight gain without spallation. Weight loss of the monolithic MA956 resulted from the linking of a multiplicity of randomly oriented and closely spaced surface cracks that facilitated ready spallation. By contrast, cracking of the composite's oxide layer was nonintersecting and aligned nominally parallel with the orientation of the subsurface reinforcing fibers. Oxidative lifetime of monolithic MA956 was projected from the observed oxidation kinetics. Linear elastic, finite element continuum, and micromechanics analyses were performed on coupons of the monolithic and composite materials. Results of the analyses qualitatively agreed well with the observed oxide cracking and spallation behavior of both the MA956 and the Sapphire/MA956 composite coupons.

This page presents radiation air monitoring and air filter analysis data for Worcester, MA from EPA's RadNet system. RadNet is a nationwide network of monitoring stations that measure radiation in air, drinking water and precipitation.

This page presents radiation air monitoring and air filter analysis data for Boston, MA from EPA's RadNet system. RadNet is a nationwide network of monitoring stations that measure radiation in air, drinking water and precipitation.

Home Care is one of the main objectives of Ambient Intelligence. Nowadays, the disabled and elderly population, which represents a significant part of our society, requires novel solutions for providing home care in an effective way. In this chapter, we present HoCaMA, a hybrid multiagent architecture that facilitates remote monitoring and care services for disabled patients at their homes. HoCaMA combines multiagent systems and Web services to facilitate the communication and integration with multiple health care systems. In addition, HoCaMA focuses on the design of reactive agents capable of interacting with different sensors present in the environment, and incorporates a system of alerts through SMS and MMS mobile technologies. Finally, it uses Radio Frequency IDentification and JavaCard technologies to provide advanced location and identification systems, as well as automatic access control facilities. HoCaMA has been implemented in a real environment and the results obtained are presented within this chapter.

The DNA binding with one finger (Dof) proteins, a family of plant-specific transcription factors, are involved in a variety of plant biological processes. However, little information is available on their involvement in fruit ripening. We have characterized 25 MaDof genes from banana fruit (Musa acuminata), designated as MaDof1-MaDof25 Gene expression analysis in fruit subjected to different ripening conditions revealed that MaDofs were differentially expressed during different stages of ripening. MaDof10, 23, 24, and 25 were ethylene-inducible and nuclear-localized, and their transcript levels increased during fruit ripening. Moreover, yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation analyses demonstrated a physical interaction between MaDof23 and MaERF9, a potential regulator of fruit ripening reported in a previous study. We determined that MaDof23 is a transcriptional repressor, whereas MaERF9 is a transcriptional activator. We suggest that they might act antagonistically in regulating 10 ripening-related genes, including MaEXP1/2/3/5, MaXET7, MaPG1, MaPME3, MaPL2, MaCAT, and MaPDC, which are associated with cell wall degradation and aroma formation. Taken together, our findings provide new insight into the transcriptional regulation network controlling banana fruit ripening.

The DNA binding with one finger (Dof) proteins, a family of plant-specific transcription factors, are involved in a variety of plant biological processes. However, little information is available on their involvement in fruit ripening. We have characterized 25 MaDof genes from banana fruit (Musa acuminata), designated as MaDof1–MaDof25. Gene expression analysis in fruit subjected to different ripening conditions revealed that MaDofs were differentially expressed during different stages of ripening. MaDof10, 23, 24, and 25 were ethylene-inducible and nuclear-localized, and their transcript levels increased during fruit ripening. Moreover, yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation analyses demonstrated a physical interaction between MaDof23 and MaERF9, a potential regulator of fruit ripening reported in a previous study. We determined that MaDof23 is a transcriptional repressor, whereas MaERF9 is a transcriptional activator. We suggest that they might act antagonistically in regulating 10 ripening-related genes, including MaEXP1/2/3/5, MaXET7, MaPG1, MaPME3, MaPL2, MaCAT, and MaPDC, which are associated with cell wall degradation and aroma formation. Taken together, our findings provide new insight into the transcriptional regulation network controlling banana fruit ripening. PMID:26889012

..., especially those residing in rural areas. (4) Market survey and analysis. Before establishing MA regions, CMS....455 Special rules for MA Regional Plans. (a) Coverage of entire MA region. The service area for an MA regional plan will consist of an entire MA region established under paragraph (b) of this section, and...

... § 422.62 Election of coverage under an MA plan. (a) General: Coverage election periods—(1) Initial... enrolled in an MA-PD plan may elect another MA-PD plan or original Medicare and coverage under a PDP. Such... individual may not elect an MA-PD plan or coverage under a PDP. (ii) Newly eligible MA individual....

... Eligibility to elect an MA plan. For this subpart, all references to an MA plan include MA-PD and both MA... individual is eligible to elect an MA plan if he or she— (1) Is entitled to Medicare under Part A...

The confluence of MaRIE (Matter-Radiation Interactions in Extreme) and extreme (exascale) computing timelines offers a unique opportunity in co-designing the elements of materials discovery, with theory and high performance computing, itself co-designed by constrained optimization of hardware and software, and experiments. MaRIE's theory, modeling, and computation (TMC) roadmap efforts have paralleled 'MaRIE First Experiments' science activities in the areas of materials dynamics, irradiated materials and complex functional materials in extreme conditions. The documents that follow this executive summary describe in detail for each of these areas the current state of the art, the gaps that exist and the road map to MaRIE and beyond. Here we integrate the various elements to articulate an overarching theme related to the role and consequences of heterogeneities which manifest as competing states in a complex energy landscape. MaRIE experiments will locate, measure and follow the dynamical evolution of these heterogeneities. Our TMC vision spans the various pillar science and highlights the key theoretical and experimental challenges. We also present a theory, modeling and computation roadmap of the path to and beyond MaRIE in each of the science areas.

In this study, we employed Flash- and Scratch-based multimedia by using a MaKey-MaKey-based task system to increase the motivation level of children with cerebral palsy to perform physical activities. MaKey MaKey is a circuit board that converts physical touch to a digital signal, which is interpreted by a computer as a keyboard message. In this study, we used conductive materials to control this interaction. This study followed single-case design using ABAB models in which A indicated the baseline and B indicated the intervention. The experiment period comprised 1 month and a half. The experimental results demonstrated that in the case of two kindergarten children with cerebral palsy, their scores were considerably increased during the intervention phrases. The developmental applications of the results are also discussed.

... payments. (1) Payments under this subpart for original fee-for-service benefits to MA organizations or MA... the Act. (2) Payments to MA-PD organizations for statutory drug benefits provided under this title...

... payments. (1) Payments under this subpart for original fee-for-service benefits to MA organizations or MA... the Act. (2) Payments to MA-PD organizations for statutory drug benefits provided under this title...

Time to maturity is a critical trait in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) breeding, as it determines whether a variety can be grown in a particular cropping system or ecosystem. Understanding the nucleotide variation and the mechanisms of molecular evolution of the maturity genes would be helpful for breeding programs. In this study, we analyzed the nucleotide diversity of Ma3, an important maturity gene in sorghum, using 252 cultivated and wild sorghum materials from all over the world. The nucleotide variation and diversity were analyzed based both on race- and usage-based groups. We also sequenced 12 genes around the Ma3 gene in 185 of these materials to search for a selective sweep and found that purifying selection was the strongest force on Ma3, as low nucleotide diversity and low-frequency amino acid variants were observed. However, a very special mutation, described as ma3R, seemed to be under positive selection, as indicated by dramatically reduced nucleotide variation not only at the loci but also in the surrounding regions among individuals carrying the mutations. In addition, in an association study using the Ma3 nucleotide variations, we detected 3 significant SNPs for the heading date at a high-latitude environment (Beijing) and 17 at a low-latitude environment (Hainan). The results of this study increases our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms of the maturity genes in sorghum and will be useful in sorghum breeding.

I describe a new integral field spectroscopic survey called MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory). One of three core programs in the 6-year SDSS-IV project† that began on July 1st, 2014, MaNGA will deploy 17 fiber-bundle IFUs across the Sloan 2.5m Telescope's 3 degree field-of-view, targeting a mass-selected sample with a median redshift of 0.03, typical spatial resolution of 1-2 kpc, and a per-fiber signal-to-noise ratio of 4-8 in the outskirts of target galaxies. For each galaxy in the sample, MaNGA will provide maps and measured gradients of the composition and dynamics of both stars and gas. I discuss early results that highlight MaNGA's potential to shed light on the ionization and chemical enrichment of gas in galaxies, spatial patterns in their star formation histories, and the internal makeup of stellar populations. MaNGA's unprecedented data set will not only provide powerful new insight on galaxy formation and evolution but will serve as a valuable benchmark for future high-z observations from large telescopes and space-based facilities.

I present the design and execution of a new survey to obtain resolved spectroscopy for 10,000 nearby galaxies called MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory). One of three core programs in the 6-year SDSS-IV project that began on July 1st, 2014, MaNGA will deploy 17 fiber-bundle IFUs across the Sloan 2.5m Telescope's 3 degree field-of-view, targeting a mass-selected sample with a median redshift of 0.03, typical spatial resolution of 1-2 kpc, and a per-fiber signal-to-noise ratio of 4-8 in the outskirts of target galaxies. For each galaxy in the sample, MaNGA will provide maps and measured gradients of the composition and dynamics of both stars and gas. Early results highlight MaNGA's potential to shed light on the ionization and chemical enrichment of gas in galaxies, spatial patterns in their star formation histories, and the internal makeup of stellar populations. MaNGA's unprecedented data set will not only provide powerful new insight on galaxy formation and evolution but will serve as a valuable benchmark for future high-z observations from large telescopes as well as space-based facilities.

Theropithecus was a common large-bodied primate that co-occurred with hominins in many Plio-Pleistocene deposits in East and South Africa. Stable isotope analyses of tooth enamel from T. brumpti (4.0–2.5 Ma) and T. oswaldi (2.0–1.0 Ma) in Kenya show that the earliest Theropithecus at 4 Ma had a diet dominated by C4 resources. Progressively, this genus increased the proportion of C4-derived resources in its diet and by 1.0 Ma, had a diet that was nearly 100% C4-derived. It is likely that this diet was comprised of grasses or sedges; stable isotopes cannot, by themselves, give an indication of the relative importance of leaves, seeds, or underground storage organs to the diet of this primate. Theropithecus throughout the 4- to 1-Ma time range has a diet that is more C4-based than contemporaneous hominins of the genera Australopithecus, Kenyanthropus, and Homo; however, Theropithecus and Paranthropus have similar proportions of C4-based resources in their respective diets. PMID:23733967

We study the MA transmutation characteristics in the high flux thermal reactor, our calculation shows that different MA nuclides may have the drastically different effects on keff, Np-237, Am-241 and Am-243 decrease keff greatly, Cm-244 affects the keff slightly, but Cm-245 boosts the keff significantly. The MA nuclides actually can act as the burnable poisons in the thermal reactors. The SCALE simulation shows that after 300-day-exposure in high flux thermal reactor the disappearance rate of Np-237, Am-241 and Am-243 are 73.7%, 98.1% and 82.8% respectively. The SCALE simulation results also show that the total transmutation rate of MA nuclides by fission which include direct and indirect fission after 300-day-exposure in the high flux thermal reactor is 6.3%. The SCALE simulation indicates at least 44.2% MA nuclides transmute to plutonium isotopes by various reactions and 63% of the Pu-238 in the MOX fuel is consumed during 300-day-exposure in this reactor.

Mantle plumes originate from boundary layers below the upper mantle. Their surface expressions as hotspot tracks have been linked to voluminous outpourings of lava in the form of large igneous provinces. The Galapagos hotspot has been active since ~90 Ma and the oldest lavas of its associated submarine ridge have been dated to ~14 Ma, subducting at the Middle America Trench, off Costa Rica. The Galapagos plume head magmatic production is preserved as the Caribbean Large Igneous Province (CLIP). A series of 15-65 Ma accreted Galapagos paleo-ridges and islands/seamounts are accreted in the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama. One of these accreted terranes, the Quepos block on the west coast of Costa Rica is an ancient, ~65 Ma Galapagos island. Olivine phenocrysts from Quepos picrites have elevated Ni and low Ca and Mn and Fe/Mn indicative of a dominant pyroxenite source component while CLIP samples are dominated by a peridotite source. The mantle potential temperature (max) of the plume changed from ~1650 to ~1550 C at 65 Ma. This change correlates with the first appearance of the pyroxenite component and an EMII signature (Northern Galapagos Domain) in the Galapagos plume. A relatively dense pyroxenite component may provide a mechanism for the change in Tp due to its effect on the plume's bouyancy. Alternatively, the pyroxenite component was diluted by high peridotite melt fraction during the massive production of the CLIP.

Theropithecus was a common large-bodied primate that co-occurred with hominins in many Plio-Pleistocene deposits in East and South Africa. Stable isotope analyses of tooth enamel from T. brumpti (4.0-2.5 Ma) and T. oswaldi (2.0-1.0 Ma) in Kenya show that the earliest Theropithecus at 4 Ma had a diet dominated by C4 resources. Progressively, this genus increased the proportion of C4-derived resources in its diet and by 1.0 Ma, had a diet that was nearly 100% C4-derived. It is likely that this diet was comprised of grasses or sedges; stable isotopes cannot, by themselves, give an indication of the relative importance of leaves, seeds, or underground storage organs to the diet of this primate. Theropithecus throughout the 4- to 1-Ma time range has a diet that is more C4-based than contemporaneous hominins of the genera Australopithecus, Kenyanthropus, and Homo; however, Theropithecus and Paranthropus have similar proportions of C4-based resources in their respective diets.

This slide presentation reviews the change in the work and impact of the Safety and Mission Assurance directorate at Marshall Space Flight Center. It reviews the background and the reasons given for a strong Safety & Mission Assurance presence in all planning for space flight. This was pointed out by the Rogers Commission Report after the Space Challenger accident, by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) and by a 2006 NASA Exploration Safety Study (NESS) Team. The overall objective of the work in this area was to improve and maintain S&MA expertise and skills. Training for this work was improved and the S&MA organization was reorganized. This has resulted in a paradigm shift for NASA's safety efforts, which is described. The presentation then reviews the impact of the new S&MA work in the Ares I design and development.

Autophagy is a conserved degradation process, which plays important pathophysiological roles. The lack of effective inhibitors of autophagy has been an obstacle in both basic research and understanding the physiological role of autophagy in disease manifestation. The most widely used inhibitor, 3-methyladenine (3-MA), is poorly soluble at room temperature and is effective only at high concentrations. In this study, we synthesized a library of small compounds by chemically modifying 3-MA and screened this library for autophagy inhibitors. Three 3-MA derivatives generated through this approach showed improved solubility and effectiveness in inhibiting autophagy. We demonstrated that chemical modification of an existing autophagy inhibitor is an effective method to generate improved autophagy inhibitors.

A digital elevation model (DEM) of a small part of the Martian channel Ma'adim Vallis was produced using the Frankot and Chellappa shape-from-shading algorithm. Software developed by the Dept. of Photogrammetry and Surveying at University College London uses this technique to extract slope information from the grey levels of image pixels. This technique was applied to a Viking Orbiter image of part of Ma'adim Vallis, and measurements of the channel depth and bed-slope of a channel incised into the floor of Ma'adim Vallis were made. These results were used to calculate order of magnitude estimates for discharge rates through the channel. The maximum values calculated are three orders of magnitude less than those for N. Kasei Vallis and are similar to values cited for the Missoula floods. However, when more realistic values of the water depth are used, discharge rates comparable with those for the Mississippi River result.

Amongst the archeological findings of Ma Wang Dui that concern the human anatomy, the first noted was a well-preserved female corpse, which demonstrated superb antiseptic techniques of the ancient Chinese. Also, 14 medical books were excavated and revealed a prototype of human visceral anatomy. The differentiation between small and large intestines was absent, and only the term of "intestine" was mentioned. The term of "triple energizers" was absent, too. However, contexts of surface anatomy were already abundant. Analyzing the terms of relative position, the anatomical position portrayed by the Ma Wang Dui medical texts is very similar to that of modern medicine.

..., as determined by CMS, for individuals with mental or cognitive conditions, including mental illness... disenrollment, including conditions on future enrollment, within 20 working days. During the review, CMS will... 42 Public Health 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Disenrollment by the MA organization....

..., as determined by CMS, for individuals with mental or cognitive conditions, including mental illness... disenrollment, including conditions on future enrollment, within 20 working days. During the review, CMS will... 42 Public Health 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Disenrollment by the MA organization....

..., as determined by CMS, for individuals with mental or cognitive conditions, including mental illness... disenrollment, including conditions on future enrollment, within 20 working days. During the review, CMS will... 42 Public Health 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Disenrollment by the MA organization....

Writing in a second (L2)/foreign language is generally a challenging activity, and writing an MA thesis, as an example of academic enterprise, can be daunting when done in a language in which the writer is not fully competent. The challenge such a genre of writing poses for L2 writers has not been properly addressed. To fill in the gap in this…

The launch of the MA-6, Friendship 7, on February 20, 1962. Boosted by the Mercury-Atlas vehicle, a modified Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), Friendship 7 was the first U.S. marned orbital flight and carried Astronaut John H. Glenn into orbit. Astronaut Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth.

We present the Northern Massive Dim Stars Survey (NoMaDS), a high-resolution spectroscopic campaign at the 9.2m Hobby-Eberly Telescope. The project aims at building the most complete and homogeneous spectroscopic database of hot, massive Galactic OB stars. NoMaDS is part of an international collaboration that combines observations from Chilean, Spanish, and Texan facilities. The contribution of NoMaDS is to complement the other sister surveys by providing high signal-to-noise echelle spectra (R=30000) of Galactic OB stars that are too faint for smaller ground-based telescopes. NoMaDS will provide a sample of about 200 stars, many of which have never been observed before at such a high resolution. Here we present the details of the survey, as well as echelle spectra obtained with the High Resolution Spectrograph since May 2011. This includes spectra of standard OB stars, Wolf-Rayet stars, binary systems, and oblique magnetic rotators. This survey will provide unprecedented spectroscopic database for a more accurate spectral classification, a quantitative analysis using atmosphere modeling, the detection and follow up of the orbits of massive spectroscopic binaries as well as the study of diffuse interstellar bands.

Google Earth is recognized as a highly effective visualization tool for geospatial information. However, there remain serious limitations that have hindered its acceptance as a tool for research and education in the geosciences. One significant limitation is the inability to translate or rotate geometrical elements on the Google Earth virtual globe. Here we present a new JavaScript web application to "Move and Rotate Google Earth Elements" (MaRGEE). MaRGEE includes tools to simplify, translate, and rotate elements, add intermediate steps to a transposition, and batch process multiple transpositions. The transposition algorithm uses spherical geometry calculations, such as the haversine formula, to accurately reposition groups of points, paths, and polygons on the Google Earth globe without distortion. Due to the imminent deprecation of the Google Earth API and browser plugin, MaRGEE uses a Google Maps interface to facilitate and illustrate the transpositions. However, the inherent spatial distortions that result from the Google Maps Web Mercator projection are not apparent once the transposed elements are saved as a KML file and opened in Google Earth. Potential applications of the MaRGEE toolkit include tectonic reconstructions, the movements of glaciers or thrust sheets, and time-based animations of other large- and small-scale geologic processes.

... Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance § 308.533 Closing report, Form MA-313. This form, which may be obtained from the American War Risk Agency or MARAD, shall be filed...

..., Dartmouth, MA AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. SUMMARY: The Coast Guard... across the Apponagansett River, mile 1.0, at Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The owner of the bridge has... identified by docket number USCG- 2011-0335 using any one of the following methods: (1) Federal...

... coordinated care plan. A coordinated care plan is a plan that includes a network of providers that are under... network is approved by CMS to ensure that all applicable requirements are met, including access and...) of this section. (D) Other network plans (except PFFS plans). (iv) A specialized MA plan for...

...) A coordinated care plan. A coordinated care plan is a plan that includes a network of providers that.... (i) The network is approved by CMS to ensure that all applicable requirements are met, including... paragraph (a)(1)(v) of this section. (D) Other network plans (except PFFS plans). (iv) A specialized MA...

...) A coordinated care plan. A coordinated care plan is a plan that includes a network of providers that.... (i) The network is approved by CMS to ensure that all applicable requirements are met, including... paragraph (a)(1)(v) of this section. (D) Other network plans (except PFFS plans). (iv) A specialized MA...

... fraudulent information on his or her election form or permits abuse of his or her enrollment card as... and developmental disabilities. In addition, the MA organization must inform the individual of the..., unless otherwise determined by CMS. (3) Individual commits fraud or permits abuse of enrollment...

The manuscript outlines the impact that our National Science Foundation Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in Biological and Mathematical Sciences program, BioMaPS, has had on the students and faculty at Murray State University. This interdisciplinary program teams mathematics and biology undergraduate students with mathematics and…

We consider Mañé's conjectures and prove that the one he made in [1] is stronger than the one he made in [2]. Then we prove that the most straightforward approach to prove the strong conjecture doesn't work in the C 4 topology.

Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is to explore the learning process associated with international mergers and acquisitions (M&A) integration strategies. Design/methodology/approach: The paper employs a comparative case study methodology, utilising qualitative data through in-depth interviews with top management responsible for…

... Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance § 308.533 Closing report, Form MA-313. This form, which may be obtained from the American War Risk Agency or MARAD, shall be filed...

... Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance § 308.533 Closing report, Form MA-313. This form, which may be obtained from the American War Risk Agency or MARAD, shall be filed...

... 42 Public Health 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Eligibility to elect an MA plan for special needs..., and Enrollment § 422.52 Eligibility to elect an MA plan for special needs individuals. (a) General rule. In order to elect a specialized MA plan for a special needs individual (Special Needs MA plan,...

... 42 Public Health 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Eligibility to elect an MA plan for special needs..., and Enrollment § 422.52 Eligibility to elect an MA plan for special needs individuals. (a) General rule. In order to elect a specialized MA plan for a special needs individual (Special Needs MA plan,...

... and both MA local and MA regional plans, as defined in § 422.2 unless specifically noted otherwise. (a... terminated the MA organization's contract for the plan or discontinued the plan in the area in which the... discontinued in the area in which the individual resides, he or she may elect another MA plan; and (iii)...

... make is not limited (except as provided for in paragraph (d) of this section for MA MSA plans). Subject... by CMS, is not limited (except as provided for in paragraph (d) of this section for MA MSA plans) in... that begins on the effective date of enrollment in the MA plan. (d) Special rules for MA MSA...

The oldest compiled U–Pb zircon ages for the Acasta Gneiss Complex in the Northwest Territories of Canada span about 4050–3850 Ma; yet older ca. 4200 Ma xenocrystic U–Pb zircon ages have also been reported for this terrane. The AGC expresses at least 25 km2 of outcrop exposure, but only a small subset of this has been documented in the detail required to investigate a complex history and resolve disputes over emplacement ages. To better understand this history, we combined new ion microprobe235,238U–207,206Pb zircon geochronology with whole-rock and zircon rare earth element compositions ([REE]zirc), Ti-in-zircon thermometry (Tixln) and 147Sm–143Nd geochronology for an individual subdivided ∼60 cm2 slab of Acasta banded gneiss comprising five separate lithologic components. Results were compared to other variably deformed granitoid-gneisses and plagioclase-hornblende rocks from elsewhere in the AGC. We show that different gneissic components carry distinct [Th/U]zirc vs. Tixln and [REE]zirc signatures correlative with different zircon U–Pb age populations and WR compositions, but not with 147Sm–143Nd isotope systematics. Modeled [REE] from lattice-strain theory reconciles only the ca. 3920 Ma zircons with the oldest component that also preserves strong positive Eu∗ anomalies. Magmas which gave rise to the somewhat older (inherited) ca. 4020 Ma AGC zircon age population formed at ∼IW (iron–wüstite) to Ma emplacement age for the AGC is contemporaneous with bombardment of the inner solar system. Analytical bombardment simulations show that crustal re-working from the impact epoch potentially affected the precursors to the Acasta gneisses.

The oldest compiled U-Pb zircon ages for the Acasta Gneiss Complex in the Northwest Territories of Canada span about 4050-3850 Ma; yet older ca. 4200 Ma xenocrystic U-Pb zircon ages have also been reported for this terrane. The AGC expresses at least 25 km2 of outcrop exposure, but only a small subset of this has been documented in the detail required to investigate a complex history and resolve disputes over emplacement ages. To better understand this history, we combined new ion microprobe 235,238U-207,206Pb zircon geochronology with whole-rock and zircon rare earth element compositions ([REE]zirc), Ti-in-zircon thermometry (Tixln) and 147Sm-143Nd geochronology for an individual subdivided ˜60 cm2 slab of Acasta banded gneiss comprising five separate lithologic components. Results were compared to other variably deformed granitoid-gneisses and plagioclase-hornblende rocks from elsewhere in the AGC. We show that different gneissic components carry distinct [Th/U]zirc vs. Tixln and [REE]zirc signatures correlative with different zircon U-Pb age populations and WR compositions, but not with 147Sm-143Nd isotope systematics. Modeled DWRzircon [REE] from lattice-strain theory reconciles only the ca. 3920 Ma zircons with the oldest component that also preserves strong positive Eu∗ anomalies. Magmas which gave rise to the somewhat older (inherited) ca. 4020 Ma AGC zircon age population formed at ˜IW (iron-wüstite) to Ma emplacement age for the AGC is contemporaneous with bombardment of the inner solar system. Analytical bombardment simulations show that crustal re-working from the impact epoch potentially affected the precursors to the Acasta gneisses.

To effectively repair or replace damaged tissues, it is necessary to design three dimensional (3D) extracellular matrix (ECM) mimicking scaffolds with tunable biomechanical properties close to the desired tissue application. In the present work, gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) and dextran glycidyl methacrylate (DexMA) with tunable mechanical and biological properties were utilized to prepared novel bicomponent polymeric hydrogels by cross-linking polymerization using photoinitiation. We controlled the degree of substitution (DS) of glycidyl methacrylate in DexMA so that they could obtain relevant mechanical properties. The results indicated that copolymer hydrogels demonstrated a lower swelling ratio and higher compressive modulus as compared to the GelMA. Moreover, all of the hydrogels exhibited a honeycomb-like architecture, the pore sizes decreased as DS increased, and NIH-3T3 fibroblasts encapsulated in these hydrogels all exhibited excellent viability. These characteristics suggest a class of photocrosslinkable, tunable mechanically copolymer hydrogels that may find potential application in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications.

It is likely that the eucrites and their associates, the howardites and diogenites, sample the surface and shallow interior of a single parent body, possibly 4 Vesta (cf. [1] and [2]). A break-up event that reaches deep enough may, thus, eject asteroidal fragments representing meteorites from all three classes. In this work we present a comprehensive investigation of the exposure age clusters for howardites, eucrites, and diogenites (HEDs). Cosmic-ray exposure ages critically depend on the production rates for cosmic-ray produced nuclei. For eucrites shielding independent production rates for ^21Ne and ^38Ar have been determined previously [3,4]. We now present production rates of ^3He, ^21Ne, ^33Ar, ^78Kr, ^83Kr, and ^126Xe for eucrites, howardites, and diogenites as a function of shielding, where appropriate, and of target element abundances as derived on the basis of ^81Kr-Kr ages. E.g., for ^21Ne we obtain: P(sub)21 (EUC) = 8.43 P^1(sub)21 [16.1 (^22Ne/^21Ne)(sub)c - 10.3]^-1, P(sub)21 (HOW) = 6.16 P^1(sub)21 [18.1 (^22Ne/^21Ne)(sub)c - 14.1]^-1, P(sub)21 (DIO) = 4.81 P^1(sub)21 [25.7 (^22Ne/^21Ne)(sub)c - 23.7]^-1, where P^1(sub)21 = 1.63 [Mg] + 0.6 [Al] + 0.32 [Si] + 0.22 [S] + 0.07 [Ca] + 0.021 [Fe + Ni] as given by [3]. (Elemental abundance [x] in weight %, P(sub)21 in 10^10 cm^3 STP/g, Ma). Average cosmic-ray exposure ages were derived from as many nuclei as possible for 14 HEDs analyzed by us (see also [5,6]) and for those compiled by [7]. Two major exposure age clusters at 21 and 38 Ma are represented in all three meteorite classes (Fig. 1). In the cluster at 21 +- 4 Ma are 12 out of 39 eucrites, 6 out of 14 howardites, and 7out of 12 diogenites. In the cluster at 38 +- 8 Ma are 6 eucrites, 5 howardites, and 4 diogenites. A third common break-up event at 5 +- 1 Ma is indicated by the remaining diogenite, three eucrites, and one howardite. Schultz [8] found major clusters for eucrites at 13, 21, 26, and 40 Ma for howardites around 10 and 24 Ma, and for

To achieve breakthrough scientific discoveries in the 21st century, a convergence and integration of world-leading experimental facilities and capabilities with theory, modeling, and simulation is necessary. In this issue of Experimental Physical Sciences Vistas, I am excited to present our plans for Los Alamos National Laboratory's future flagship experimental facility, MaRIE (Matter-Radiation Interactions in Extremes). MaRIE is a facility that will provide transformational understanding of matter in extreme conditions required to reduce or resolve key weapons performance uncertainties, develop the materials needed for advanced energy systems, and transform our ability to create materials by design. Our unique role in materials science starting with the Manhattan Project has positioned us well to develop a contemporary materials strategy pushing the frontiers of controlled functionality - the design and tailoring of a material for the unique demands of a specific application. Controlled functionality requires improvement in understanding of the structure and properties of materials in order to synthesize and process materials with unique characteristics. In the nuclear weapons program today, improving data and models to increase confidence in the stockpile can take years from concept to new knowledge. Our goal with MaRIE is to accelerate this process by enhancing predictive capability - the ability to compute a priori the observables of an experiment or test and pertinent confidence intervals using verified and validated simulation tools. It is a science-based approach that includes the use of advanced experimental tools, theoretical models, and multi-physics codes, simultaneously dealing with multiple aspects of physical operation of a system that are needed to develop an increasingly mature predictive capability. This same approach is needed to accelerate improvements to other systems such as nuclear reactors. MaRIE will be valuable to many national security

A new pulsar machine, called PuMa, has been developed in the Netherlands and has recently been installed at the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. PuMa takes advantage of high speed DSPs to carry out FFTs of the incoming data rather than the traditional filter approach to sampling the bandpass. This enables the formation of very fine frequency channels thus greatly improving the ability to correct for dispersion across the bandpass. The system is also very versatile allowing the approriate number channels to be chosen for a particular experiment. As the data are sampled at 20 MHz very high time resolution can also be acheived. It is also possible to record 10 MHz of raw bandwidth which can be coherently dedispersed off-line. I will present the initial results from a number of projects which we are undertaking, including a globular cluster survey, high resolution pulse studies and polarimetry.

The problem of nonlinear interaction of a cnoidal wave (a “fast” component of vector light field) with localized in time and periodic in space control signal in the form of Kuznetsov-Ma soliton (a "slow" component of the same field) is analytically solved in the adiabatic approximation. The conditions which must be fulfilled for stable propagation of the obtained solution with amplitude and frequency modulation are determined.

We examine the entropic picture of Newton's second law for the case of circular motion. It is shown that one must make modifications to the derivation of F = ma due to a change in the effective Unruh temperature for circular motion. These modifications present a challenge to the entropic derivation of Newton's second law, but also open up the possibility to experimentally test and constrain this model for large centripetal accelerations. (Phys. Lett. B 703 (2011) 516-518)

The design of a 500 MJ, 5 MA power supply for rail gun experiments under the Battery Upgraded Supply (BUS) program is examined. About 50,000 12-volt lead acid batteries are required to reach this level. BUS will be required to perform up to two discharges per week. Therefore, BUS is designed to be a low-maintenance, reliable, and fault-tolerant power supply. The design of BUS and the details of its subsystems are described.

We assess the effect of the European design of the pebble-bed helium-cooled test blanket modules (TBM) on fast ion power loads on ITER material surfaces. For this purpose, the effect of not only the TBMs but also the ferritic inserts (FI), used for mitigating the toroidal field ripple, were included in unprecedented detail in the reconstruction of the 3-dimensional magnetic field. This is important because, due to their low collisionality, fast ions follow the magnetic geometry much more faithfully than the thermal plasma. The Monte Carlo orbit-following code ASCOT was used to simulate all the foreseen operating scenarios of ITER: the baseline 15 MA standard H-mode operation, the 12.5 MA hybrid scenario, the 9 MA advanced scenario, and the half-field scenario with helium plasma that will be ITER’s initial operating scenario. The effect of TBMs was assessed by carrying out the simulations in pairs: one including only the effect of ferritic inserts, and the other including also the perturbation due to TBMs. Both thermonuclear fusion alphas and NBI ions from ITER heating beams were addressed. The TBMs are found to increase the power loads, but the absolute values remain small. Neither do they produce any additional hot spots.

Pulsars are neutron stars, rapidly rotating remains of supernova explosions, emitting bundles of broadband electromagnetic radiation. To carry out pulsar observations, two hurdles have to be overcome. Typically, the signal-to-noise ratio is poor, requiring long observations and large bandwidths. Next there is dispersion, causing the pulsating signals to smear out and calls for narrow signal bands. PuMa, the first Dutch pulsar machine, uses digital signal processing to split the incoming signal in up to thousands of narrow bands. The processor based design also increases flexibility as it allows different observational modes by loading the appropriate software into the signal processors. In total 192 SHARC processors (ADSP 21062) deliver the processing capacity. For PuMa a general purpose 6-processor SHARC board was developed, optimized for concurrent use of data busses. Other parts are commercially available components and all is joined in a VME environment. Mid 1998 PuMa was installed at the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope in the Netherlands and its commissioning is completed.

It is well recognized that the need of sharing ocean data among non-specialized users is constantly increasing. Initiatives that are built upon international standards will contribute to simplify data processing and dissemination, improve user-accessibility also through web browsers, facilitate the sharing of information across the integrated network of ocean observing systems; and ultimately provide a better understanding of the ocean functioning. The SCHeMA (Integrated in Situ Chemical MApping probe) Project is developing an open and modular sensing solution for autonomous in situ high resolution mapping of a wide range of anthropogenic and natural chemical compounds coupled to master bio-physicochemical parameters (www.schema-ocean.eu). The SCHeMA web system is designed to ensure user-friendly data discovery, access and download as well as interoperability with other projects through a dedicated interface that implements the Global Earth Observation System of Systems - Common Infrastructure (GCI) recommendations and the international Open Geospatial Consortium - Sensor Web Enablement (OGC-SWE) standards. This approach will insure data accessibility in compliance with major European Directives and recommendations. Being modular, the system allows the plug-and-play of commercially available probes as well as new sensor probess under development within the project. The access to the network of monitoring probes is provided via a web-based system interface that, being implemented as a SOS (Sensor Observation Service), is providing standard interoperability and access tosensor observations systems through O&M standard - as well as sensor descriptions - encoded in Sensor Model Language (SensorML). The use of common vocabularies in all metadatabases and data formats, to describe data in an already harmonized and common standard is a prerequisite towards consistency and interoperability. Therefore, the SCHeMA SOS has adopted the SeaVox common vocabularies populated by

A Drilling system, coupled with an in situ analysis package, is installed on the ExoMars Pasteur Rover to perform in situ investigations up to 2m in the Mars soil. Ma_Miss (Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies) is a spectrometer devoted to observe the lateral wall of the borehole generated by the Drilling system. The instrument is fully integrated with the Drill and shares its structure and electronics. For the first time in Mars exploration experiments the water/geochemical environment will be investigated as function of depth in the shallow subsurface. Samples from the subsurface of Martian soil are unaltered by weathering process, oxidation and erosion. Subsurface access can be the key to look for signs of present and past environmental conditions, associated to the possibility for life (water, volatiles and weathering process). The analysis of uncontaminated samples by means of instrumented Drill and in situ observations is the solution for unambiguous interpretation of the original environment that leading to the formation of rocks. Ma_Miss experiment is perfectly suited to perform multispectral imaging of the drilled layers. Ma_Miss is a miniaturized near-infrared imaging spectrometer in the range 0.4-2.2 µm with 20nm spectral sampling. The task of illuminating the borehole wall and collecting the diffused light from the illuminated spot on the target requires a transparent window on the Drill tool, which shall prevent the dust contamination of the optical and mechanical elements inside. Hardness of sapphire is the closest to diamond one, thus avoiding the risk of scratches on its surface. The Sapphire window is cylindrical, and bounded such as to realize a continuous auger profile. Ma_Miss Optical Head performs the double task of illuminating the borehole wall with a spot around 1 mm diameter and of collecting the scattered light coming from a 0.1 mm diameter spot of the target. The signal from the Optical Head to the spectrometer is transferred

Herb Ephedra (Ma Huang in Chinese) and Ramulus Cinnamomi (Gui Zhi in Chinese) are traditional Chinese herbs, often used together to treat asthma, nose and lung congestion, and fever with anhidrosis. Due to the adverse effects of ephedrine, clinical use of Ma Huang is restricted. However, Gui Zhi extract has been reported to decrease spontaneous activity in rats and exert anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. The present study explored the possible inhibitory effect of Gui Zhi on Ma Huang-induced neurotoxicity in rats when the two herbs were used in combination. All Ma Huang and Ma Huang-Gui Zhi herb pair extracts were prepared using methods of traditional Chinese medicine and were normalized based on the ephedrine content. Two-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 6 rats/group) were administered Ma Huang or the Ma Huang-Gui Zhi herb pair extracts for 7 days (ephedrine = 48 mg/kg), and locomotor activity was measured. After 7 days, oxidative damage in the prefrontal cortex was measured. Gui Zhi decreased hyperactivity and sensitization produced by repeated Ma Huang administration and attenuated oxidative stress induced by Ma Huang. The results of this study demonstrate the neuroprotective potential of Gui Zhi in Ma Huang-induced hyperactivity and oxidative damage in the prefrontal cortex of rats when used in combination. PMID:25691910

Herb Ephedra (Ma Huang in Chinese) and Ramulus Cinnamomi (Gui Zhi in Chinese) are traditional Chinese herbs, often used together to treat asthma, nose and lung congestion, and fever with anhidrosis. Due to the adverse effects of ephedrine, clinical use of Ma Huang is restricted. However, Gui Zhi extract has been reported to decrease spontaneous activity in rats and exert anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. The present study explored the possible inhibitory effect of Gui Zhi on Ma Huang-induced neurotoxicity in rats when the two herbs were used in combination. All Ma Huang and Ma Huang-Gui Zhi herb pair extracts were prepared using methods of traditional Chinese medicine and were normalized based on the ephedrine content. Two-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 6 rats/group) were administered Ma Huang or the Ma Huang-Gui Zhi herb pair extracts for 7 days (ephedrine = 48 mg/kg), and locomotor activity was measured. After 7 days, oxidative damage in the prefrontal cortex was measured. Gui Zhi decreased hyperactivity and sensitization produced by repeated Ma Huang administration and attenuated oxidative stress induced by Ma Huang. The results of this study demonstrate the neuroprotective potential of Gui Zhi in Ma Huang-induced hyperactivity and oxidative damage in the prefrontal cortex of rats when used in combination.

...: Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior... the possession and control of the Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA... Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst professional staff in consultation...

... means for vehicles to travel between Chelsea, MA and East Boston, MA. Several petroleum-product transfer... passage through the Chelsea Street Bridge based on vessel dimensional criteria, assist tug support,...

Astronaut M. Scott Carpenter, prime pilot for the Mercury-Atlas 7 (MA-7) mission, is seen being recovered from Atlantic Ocean after MA-7 flight. A diver helps Carpenter into a life raft while the capsule floats nearby.

... § 422.57 Limited enrollment under MA RFB plans. An RFB society that offers an MA RFB plan may offer that plan only to members of the church, or convention or group of churches with which the society...

... Enrollment § 422.57 Limited enrollment under MA RFB plans. An RFB society that offers an MA RFB plan may offer that plan only to members of the church, or convention or group of churches with which the...

... Enrollment § 422.57 Limited enrollment under MA RFB plans. An RFB society that offers an MA RFB plan may offer that plan only to members of the church, or convention or group of churches with which the...

... § 422.57 Limited enrollment under MA RFB plans. An RFB society that offers an MA RFB plan may offer that plan only to members of the church, or convention or group of churches with which the society...

Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA), one of three core programs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV, is an integral-field spectroscopic survey of roughly 10,000 nearby galaxies. It employs dithered observations using 17 hexagonal bundles of 2″ fibers to obtain resolved spectroscopy over a wide wavelength range of 3600-10300 Å. To map the internal variations within each galaxy, we need to perform accurate spectral surface photometry, which is to calibrate the specific intensity at every spatial location sampled by each individual aperture element of the integral field unit. The calibration must correct only for the flux loss due to atmospheric throughput and the instrument response, but not for losses due to the finite geometry of the fiber aperture. This requires the use of standard star measurements to strictly separate these two flux loss factors (throughput versus geometry), a difficult challenge with standard single-fiber spectroscopy techniques due to various practical limitations. Therefore, we developed a technique for spectral surface photometry using multiple small fiber-bundles targeting standard stars simultaneously with galaxy observations. We discuss the principles of our approach and how they compare to previous efforts, and we demonstrate the precision and accuracy achieved. MaNGA's relative calibration between the wavelengths of Hα and Hβ has an rms of 1.7%, while that between [N ii] λ6583 and [O ii] λ3727 has an rms of 4.7%. Using extinction-corrected star formation rates and gas-phase metallicities as an illustration, this level of precision guarantees that flux calibration errors will be sub-dominant when estimating these quantities. The absolute calibration is better than 5% for more than 89% of MaNGA's wavelength range.

Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA), one of three core programs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV, is an integral-field spectroscopic survey of roughly 10,000 nearby galaxies. It employs dithered observations using 17 hexagonal bundles of 2″ fibers to obtain resolved spectroscopy over a wide wavelength range of 3600–10300 Å. To map the internal variations within each galaxy, we need to perform accurate spectral surface photometry, which is to calibrate the specific intensity at every spatial location sampled by each individual aperture element of the integral field unit. The calibration must correct only for the flux loss due to atmospheric throughput and the instrument response, but not for losses due to the finite geometry of the fiber aperture. This requires the use of standard star measurements to strictly separate these two flux loss factors (throughput versus geometry), a difficult challenge with standard single-fiber spectroscopy techniques due to various practical limitations. Therefore, we developed a technique for spectral surface photometry using multiple small fiber-bundles targeting standard stars simultaneously with galaxy observations. We discuss the principles of our approach and how they compare to previous efforts, and we demonstrate the precision and accuracy achieved. MaNGA's relative calibration between the wavelengths of Hα and Hβ has an rms of 1.7%, while that between [N ii] λ6583 and [O ii] λ3727 has an rms of 4.7%. Using extinction-corrected star formation rates and gas-phase metallicities as an illustration, this level of precision guarantees that flux calibration errors will be sub-dominant when estimating these quantities. The absolute calibration is better than 5% for more than 89% of MaNGA's wavelength range.

The manuscript outlines the impact that our National Science Foundation Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in Biological and Mathematical Sciences program, BioMaPS, has had on the students and faculty at Murray State University. This interdisciplinary program teams mathematics and biology undergraduate students with mathematics and biology faculty and has produced research insights and curriculum developments at the intersection of these two disciplines. The goals, structure, achievements, and curriculum initiatives are described in relation to the effects they have had to enhance the study of biomathematics. PMID:20810948

The Mars Relay Operational Service (MaROS) comprises a number of tools to coordinate, plan, and visualize various aspects of the Mars Relay network. These levels include a Web-based user interface, a back-end "ReSTlet" built in Java, and databases that store the data as it is received from the network. As part of MaROS, the innovators have developed and implemented a feature set that operates on several levels of the software architecture. This new feature is an advanced querying capability through either the Web-based user interface, or through a back-end REST interface to access all of the data gathered from the network. This software is not meant to replace the REST interface, but to augment and expand the range of available data. The current REST interface provides specific data that is used by the MaROS Web application to display and visualize the information; however, the returned information from the REST interface has typically been pre-processed to return only a subset of the entire information within the repository, particularly only the information that is of interest to the GUI (graphical user interface). The new, advanced query and data mining capabilities allow users to retrieve the raw data and/or to perform their own data processing. The query language used to access the repository is a restricted subset of the structured query language (SQL) that can be built safely from the Web user interface, or entered as freeform SQL by a user. The results are returned in a CSV (Comma Separated Values) format for easy exporting to third party tools and applications that can be used for data mining or user-defined visualization and interpretation. This is the first time that a service is capable of providing access to all cross-project relay data from a single Web resource. Because MaROS contains the data for a variety of missions from the Mars network, which span both NASA and ESA, the software also establishes an access control list (ACL) on each data record

... 42 Public Health 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Effect of leasing of an MA organization's... Change of Ownership or Leasing of Facilities During Term of Contract § 422.553 Effect of leasing of an MA organization's facilities. (a) General effect of leasing. If an MA organization leases all or part of...

... 42 Public Health 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Effect of leasing of an MA organization's... Change of Ownership or Leasing of Facilities During Term of Contract § 422.553 Effect of leasing of an MA organization's facilities. (a) General effect of leasing. If an MA organization leases all or part of...

... 42 Public Health 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Effect of leasing of an MA organization's... Change of Ownership or Leasing of Facilities During Term of Contract § 422.553 Effect of leasing of an MA organization's facilities. (a) General effect of leasing. If an MA organization leases all or part of...

... 42 Public Health 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Effect of leasing of an MA organization's... Ownership or Leasing of Facilities During Term of Contract § 422.553 Effect of leasing of an MA organization's facilities. (a) General effect of leasing. If an MA organization leases all or part of...

Highlights: •NuMA is modified by SUMO-1 in a cell cycle-dependent manner. •NuMA lysine 1766 is the primary target site for SUMOylation. •SUMOylation-deficient NuMA induces multiple spindle poles during mitosis. •SUMOylated NuMA induces microtubule bundling. -- Abstract: Covalent conjugation of proteins with small ubiquitin-like modifier 1 (SUMO-1) plays a critical role in a variety of cellular functions including cell cycle control, replication, and transcriptional regulation. Nuclear mitotic apparatus protein (NuMA) localizes to spindle poles during mitosis, and is an essential component in the formation and maintenance of mitotic spindle poles. Here we show that NuMA is a target for covalent conjugation to SUMO-1. We find that the lysine 1766 residue is the primary NuMA acceptor site for SUMO-1 conjugation. Interestingly, SUMO modification of endogenous NuMA occurs at the entry into mitosis and this modification is reversed after exiting from mitosis. Knockdown of Ubc9 or forced expression of SENP1 results in impairment of the localization of NuMA to mitotic spindle poles during mitosis. The SUMOylation-deficient NuMA mutant is defective in microtubule bundling, and multiple spindles are induced during mitosis. The mitosis-dependent dynamic SUMO-1 modification of NuMA might contribute to NuMA-mediated formation and maintenance of mitotic spindle poles during mitosis.

... 42 Public Health 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Effect of leasing of an MA organization's... Ownership or Leasing of Facilities During Term of Contract § 422.553 Effect of leasing of an MA organization's facilities. (a) General effect of leasing. If an MA organization leases all or part of...

It has been known for some time that the addition of small oxide particles to an 80 Ni-20 Cr alloy not only increases its elevated-temperature strength, but also markedly improves its resistance to oxidation. The mechanism by which the oxide dispersoid enhances the oxidation resistance was studied. Initial experiments were performed using inconel alloy MA754, which is nominally: 78 Ni, 20 Cr, 0.05 C, 0.3 Al, 0.5 Ti, 1.0 Fe, and 0.6 Y/sub 2/O/sub 3/ (wt %). Small disks (3 mm diam x 0.38 mm thick) were cut from MA754 plate stock and prepared with two different surface conditions. The first was prepared by mechanically polishing one side of a disk through 0.5 ..mu..m diamond on a syntron polisher while the second used an additional sulfuric acid-methanol electropolishing treatment to remove the cold-worked surface layer. Disks having both surface treatments were oxidized in a radiantly heated furnace for 30 s at 1000/sup 0/C. Three different environments were investigated: hydrogen with nominal dew points of 0/sup 0/C, -25/sup 0/C, and -55/sup 0/C. The oxide particles and films were examined in TEM by using extraction replicas (carbon) and by backpolishing to the oxide/metal interface. The particles were analyzed by EDS and SAD. Preliminary results are given.

Oxide Dispersion Strengthened (ODS) steels' qualities of radiation damage resistance and high strength at high temperature make them promising nuclear structural materials. However, the dispersed yttria that gives ODS steel its beneficial qualities are generally compromised during joining processes, making fabrication difficult and expensive. The selective laser sintering process offers a potential path through this barrier by which net-shape parts can feasibly be built via additive manufacturing without fully melting the structure. Rastering a 400 W laser over a 110 μm MA956 ODS steel powder bed, we additively built parts with varying build conditions. Although density was achieved to within 97% of the wrought MA956, ultimate tensile strengths achieved only 65% of the wrought strength. Spectroscopy analysis points to the agglomeration of the yttria nano-particles as a possible explanation for the loss in strength. Further study might benefit from exploration of other parameters such as thinner powder build layers which would require less energy input to achieve sintering while minimizing time above the melting temperature.

Digital elevation models of the northern part of Ma'adim Vallis (603a41 607m/pix, 639a91 721m/pix), and Apollinaris Patera (603a42 612m/pix, 639a92 717m/pix), covering the area between 180 degrees to 190 degrees long and -2 degrees to -20 degrees lat. were obtained using a method described here. The results for the Ma'adim Vallis area show broad agreement with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) topographic map of the area with a channel depth of 1 to 2 km. A detailed study of the variations in the channel depth along its course and calculations of its discharge rate from channel cross section and slope are currently being undertaken. Results for Apollinaris Patera have been obtained, although the absolute heights relative to the Mars datum are not well constrained. However, the relative heights are sufficient for some analysis. Again, the topographic map is in reasonable agreement with the USGS map of the area, although there are significant differences.

The Mars Relay Operations Service (MaROS) is designed to provide planning and analysis tools in support of ongoing Mars Network relay operations. Strategic relay planning requires coordination between lander and orbiter mission ground data system (GDS) teams to schedule and execute relay communications passes. MaROS centralizes this process, correlating all data relevant to relay coordination to provide a cohesive picture of the relay state. Service users interact with the system through thin-layer command line and web user interface client applications. Users provide and utilize data such as lander view periods of orbiters, Deep Space Network (DSN) antenna tracks, and reports of relay pass performance. Users upload and download relevant relay data via formally defined and documented file structures including some described in Extensible Markup Language (XML). Clients interface with the system via an http-based Representational State Transfer (ReST) pattern using Javascript Object Notation (JSON) formats. This paper will provide a general overview of the service architecture and detail the software interfaces and considerations for interface design.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between methamphetamine (MA) use history and segmental hair analysis (1 and 3cm sections) and whole hair analysis results in Korean MA users in rehabilitation programs. Hair samples were collected from 26 Korean MA users. Eleven of the 26 subjects used cannabis with MA and two used cocaine, opiates, and MDMA with MA. Self-reported single dose of MA from the 26 subjects ranged from 0.03 to 0.5g/one time. Concentrations of MA and its metabolite amphetamine (AP) in hair were determined by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) after derivatization. The method used was well validated. Qualitative analysis from all 1cm sections (n=154) revealed a good correlation between positive or negative results for MA in hair and self-reported MA use (69.48%, n=107). In detail, MA results were positive in 66 hair specimens of MA users who reported administering MA, and MA results were negative in 41 hair specimens of MA users who denied MA administration in the corresponding month. Test results were false-negative in 10.39% (n=16) of hair specimens and false-positive in 20.13% (n=31) of hair specimens. In false positive cases, it is considered that after MA cessation it continued to be accumulated in hair still, while in false negative cases, self-reported histories showed a small amount of MA use or MA use 5-7 months previously. In terms of quantitative analysis, the concentrations of MA in 1 and 3cm long hair segments and in whole hair samples ranged from 1.03 to 184.98 (mean 22.01), 2.26 to 89.33 (mean 18.71), and 0.91 to 124.49 (mean 15.24)ng/mg, respectively. Ten subjects showed a good correlation between MA use and MA concentration in hair. Correlation coefficient (r) of 7 among 10 subjects ranged from 0.71 to 0.98 (mean 0.85). Four subjects showed a low correlation between MA use and MA concentration in hair. Correlation coefficient (r) of 4 subjects ranged from 0.36 to 0.55. Eleven subjects showed a poor

The supercontinent, Rodinia, appears to have been amalgamated by ca.1 Ga, however, its breakup in Laurentia appears to have occurred in two stages. Current hypotheses suggest that East Gondwana or Siberia separated from western Laurentia at ca.700 Ma followed by separation of (?) South China at ca.550 Ma producing two superposed passive margin sequences. Although prevailing wisdom suggests that the birth of Iapetus between North and South America occurred at ca.550 Ma, a similar 2-stage process is evident in both eastern Laurentia and Mexico. At ca.1 Ga, Mexico appears to have been located in or close to the North-South America suture and so provides crucial data. Geochronological data indicate that cooling following ca.1 Ga granulite facies orogenesis in Mexico followed two different paths. In southern Mexico the rocks initially cooled through ca.450° C at a rate of ca.8° C/my between 978 Ma and 945 Ma related to flat-slab subduction, followed by a cooling rate of ca.2° C/my through ca.150° C. In northern Mexico the rocks cooled at a steady rate of ca.1.8° C/my through ca.300° C and are cut by plume-related mafic dykes. Extrapolating these cooling paths to the surface indicates that southern Mexico reached the surface between 710 and 760 Ma, whereas northern Mexico reached the surface by 550 Ma. This may be partly explained by different depths of exhumation: 30 versus 37 km for southern and northern Mexico, respectively. On the other hand, the oldest rocks resting on the ca.1 Ga basement are Tremadocian (ca.490-480 Ma) in southern Mexico and Middle Silurian (ca.430-425 Ma) in northern Mexico. Thus it would appear that Mexico records two breakup stages: (1) at ca.700 Ma possibly related to the breakup of Rodinia; (2) at ca.550 Ma possibly related to the transcurrent separation of Avalonia followed by thermal equilibration at ca.500 Ma leading to subsidence and development of a passive margin. These data suggest that the breakup of Rodinia occurred at ca.700

We present observational evidence that both the East and West Antarctic ice sheets had expanded to the coast by 37 Ma, predating, by at least 3 Myr, a major drop in atmospheric CO2 at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary widely considered responsible for Antarctic Ice Sheet expansion. Our evidence comes from the provenance (geochronology, thermochronometry, mineralogy) of iceberg-rafted debris identified in Late Eocene marine sediments from (ODP) Leg 113 Site 696 in the NW Weddell Sea. The existence of an significant Antarctic Ice Sheet in a Late Eocene high pCO2 world calls into question the role of atmospheric CO2 concentrations as the dominant mechanism for ice sheet expansion and whether topography and ocean circulation only play a secondary role.

We consider an n-component fixed-length order parameter interacting with a weak random field in d =1, 2, 3 dimensions. Relaxation from the initially ordered state and spin-spin correlation functions are studied on lattices containing hundreds of millions of sites. At n≤d the presence of topological defects leads to strong metastability and glassy behavior, with the final state depending on the initial condition. At n=d+1, when topological structures are nonsingular, the system possesses a weak metastability. At n>d+1, when topological objects are absent, the final, lowest-energy state is independent of the initial condition. It is characterized by the exponential decay of correlations that agrees quantitatively with the theory based upon the Imry-Ma argument.

The type 2 cannabinoid receptor (CB2) is a member of the endocannabinoid system and is known for its important role in (neuro)inflammation. A PET-imaging agent that allows in vivo visualization of CB2 expression may thus allow quantification of neuroinflammation. In this paper, we report the synthesis, radiosynthesis, biodistribution and in vitro evaluation of a carbon-11 ([11C]MA2) and a fluorine-18 ([18F]MA3) labeled analog of a highly potent N-arylamide oxadiazole CB2 agonist (EC50 = 0.015 nM). MA2 and MA3 behaved as potent CB2 agonist (EC50: 3 nM and 0.1 nM, respectively) and their in vitro binding affinity for hCB2 was found to be 87 nM and 0.8 nM, respectively. Also MA3 (substituted with a fluoro ethyl group) was found to have higher binding affinity and EC50 values when compared to the originally reported trifluoromethyl analog 12. [11C]MA2 and [18F]MA3 were successfully synthesized with good radiochemical yield, high radiochemical purity and high specific activity. In mice, both tracers were efficiently cleared from blood and all major organs by the hepatobiliary pathway and importantly these compounds showed high brain uptake. In conclusion, [11C]MA2 and [18F]MA3 are shown to be high potent CB2 agonists with good brain uptake, these favorable characteristics makes them potential PET probes for in vivo imaging of brain CB2 receptors. However, in view of its higher affinity and selectivity, further detailed evaluation of MA3 as a PET tracer for CB2 is warranted. PMID:27713686

It is universally known that testing has a predominant role when developing software: more and more efforts are spent on testing to detect programming faults, to evaluate the code reliability or performance, to ensure that a critical function of a system meets given requirements. The ratio of time spent on testing should not be neglected and this explains why there is a real need to improve the development process, especially as systems are becoming larger and larger. It is necessary to keep under control the schedule and budget of developments, and controlling the testing phase is a real issue, often underestimated in many industrial sectors. The industry is heightened at different stages regarding testing, and the MaTeLo project is committed to promote the use of statistical tools &methods to answer European industry's needs: • have the ability to choose relevant test cases instead of a human- biased selection • know when to stop testing (definition of a stopping criteria) instead of a vague and informal criteria • adopt an identical strategy for different developments • automate the testing process, and thus to make testing not human error prone MaTeLo (Markov Test Logic) study is a study currently under development in the frame of the IST program of the European Community. The aim of the project is to define, implement and validate a new approach for supporting the software testing activities in various industrial fields. One of the major goals is in particular to provide the software teams with a new tool able to automatically produce and execute the Test Cases starting from the software specifications. Further, the tool is conceived to provide metrics that could help technical staff to determine software quality and to evaluate how much expected results are met. The tool is based on Markov chains theory and belongs to statistical testing software tools family [Runeson] [Whittaker].

Calmodulin (CaM) expression is upregulated upon HIV-1 infection and interacts with proteins involved in viral processing, including the multifunctional HIV-1 MA protein. We present here the results of studies utilizing small-angle neutron scattering with contrast variation that, when considered in the light of earlier fluorescence and NMR data, show CaM binds MA in an extended open-clamp conformation via interactions with two tryptophans that are widely spaced in sequence and space. The interaction requires a disruption of the MA tertiary fold such that MA becomes highly extended in a long snakelike conformation. The CaM-MA interface is extensive, covering ∼70% of the length of the MA such that regions known to be important in MA interactions with critical binding partners would be impacted. The CaM conformation is semiextended and as such is distinct from the classical CaM-collapse about short α-helical targets. NMR data show that upon dissociation of the CaM-MA complex, either by the removal of Ca2+ or increasing ionic strength, MA reforms its native tertiary contacts. Thus, we observe a high level of structural plasticity in MA that may facilitate regulation of its activities via intracellular Ca2+-signaling during viral processing. PMID:22947870

The majority of U.S. commercial floor space is cooled by rooftop HVAC units (RTUs). RTU popularity derives chiefly from their low initial cost and relative ease of service access without disturbing building occupants. Unfortunately, current RTUs are inherently inefficient due to a combination of characteristics that unnecessarily increase cooling loads and energy use. 36% percent of annual U.S. energy, and two-thirds of electricity, is consumed in and by buildings. Commercial buildings consume approximately 4.2 quads of energy each year at a cost of $230 billion per year, with HVAC equipment consuming 1.2 quads of electricity. More than half of all U.S. commercial floor space is cooled by packaged HVAC units, most of which are rooftop units (RTUs). Inefficient RTUs create an estimated 3.5% of U.S. CO{sub 2} emissions, thus contributing significantly to global warming5. Also, RTUs often fail to maintain adequate ventilation air and air filtration, reducing indoor air quality. This is the second HyPak project to be supported by DOE through NETL. The prior project, referred to as HyPak-1 in this report, had two rounds of prototype fabrication and testing as well as computer modeling and market research. The HyPak-1 prototypes demonstrated the high performance capabilities of the HyPak concept, but made it clear that further development was required to reduce heat exchanger cost and improve system reliability before HyPak commercialization can commence. The HyPak-1 prototypes were limited to about 25% ventilation air fraction, limiting performance and marketability. The current project is intended to develop a 'mixed-air' product that is capable of full 0-100% modulation in ventilation air fraction, hence it was referred to as HyPak-MA in the proposal. (For simplicity, the -MA has been dropped when referencing the current project.) The objective of the HyPak Project is to design, develop and test a hydronic RTU that provides a quantum improvement over conventional RTU

IMPs exhibit a perplexing combination of characteristics that are consistent with either an approximately 100 Ma or 3 Ga formation. Dozens of small-area IMPs have crisp morphologies and crater size-frequency distributions (SFDs) that denote relatively recent geologic activity (less than 100 Ma); however, the apparently well-developed regolith on portions of the IMPs are in conflict with such a young age [1]. To test possible formation hypotheses (e.g., [1-5]), which range from ancient volcanism to contemporary outgassing, we examined IMP morphology at the meter-scale with LROC NAC images and derived elevation models. We focused on the largest IMPs (Ina, Sosigenes, Cauchy, Maskelyne, and Nubium), where contacts between deposits are best developed. Most of our observations are consistent with multiple generations of inflation and breakouts (or squeeze-ups) of basaltic lavas that were affected by local slopes. Some of the extrusions coalesced into larger mounds or filled pre-existing craters. We did not observe evidence of large-scale void space (e.g., fissures, fractures, linear depressions, or pits) within or beneath the mounds or rougher deposits (e.g., [5]). But, small-scale voids may be signified by isolated pitted textures. We also did not detect evidence of the cooling fractures or lava plates expected in young lava flows and observed in lunar impact melt deposits. The smooth texture of the mounds is enigmatic. Block-less craters suggest at least 5 m of friable or poorly-cohesive material (such as regolith), yet mound margins exhibit slopes greater than 30 deg requiring significant material strength. Blocks are not common on the mounds, but are sometimes excavated by impacts (usually excavated from beneath the mounds). The uneven deposits are equally enigmatic and texturally varied (blocky, pitted, and crenulated). They are deficient in superposed craters compared to the mounds. If the mounds are indeed of similar age to the rougher units, then their different

The Hanford External Dosimetry Technical Basis Manual PNL-MA-842 documents the design and implementation of the external dosimetry system used at Hanford. The manual describes the dosimeter design, processing protocols, dose calculation methodology, radiation fields encountered, dosimeter response characteristics, limitations of dosimeter design under field conditions, and makes recommendations for effective use of the dosimeters in the field. The manual describes the technical basis for the dosimetry system in a manner intended to help ensure defensibility of the dose of record at Hanford and to demonstrate compliance with 10 CFR 835, DOELAP, DOE-RL, ORP, PNSO, and Hanford contractor requirements. The dosimetry system is operated by PNNL’s Hanford External Dosimetry Program which provides dosimetry services to all Hanford contractors. The primary users of this manual are DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford using the dosimetry services of PNNL. Development and maintenance of this manual is funded directly by DOE and DOE contractors. Its contents have been reviewed and approved by DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford through the Hanford Personnel Dosimetry Advisory Committee which is chartered and chaired by DOE-RL and serves as means of coordinating dosimetry practices across contractors at Hanford. This manual was established in 1996. Since inception, it has been revised many times and maintained by PNNL as a controlled document with controlled distribution. Rev. 0 marks the first revision to be released through PNNL’s Electronic Records & Information Capture Architecture (ERICA) database.

The diurnal regulation of gibberellin (GA) concentrations in Sorghum bicolor was studied in a mutant lacking a light-stable 123-kD phytochrome (ma3Rma3R), wild-type (ma3ma3,Ma3Ma3), and heterozygous (ma3ma3R) cultivars. GAs were determined in shoots of 14-d-old plants by gas chromatography-selected ion-monitoring-mass spectrometry. GA12 levels fluctuated rhythmically in Ma3Ma3, ma3ma3, and,ma3Rma3R; Peak levels occured 3 to 9 h after lights-on. In some experiments, GA53 levels followed a similar pattern. There was no rhythmicity in levels of GA19 and GA8 in any genotype. In ma3ma3 and Ma3Ma3, GA20 levels increased at lights-on, peaked in the afternoon, and decreased to minimum levels in darkness. In ma3Rma3R, peak GA20 levels occured at lights-on, 9 h earlier than in the wild-type genotypes. The pattern for GA1 levels closely followed GA20 levels in all cultivars. One copy of ma3 restored near wild-type regulation of GA20 levels. GA rhythms persisted in 25-d-old ma3ma3 plants. Since absence of the 123-kD phytochrome disrupted diurnal regulation of the GA19 -> GA20 step, the ma3Rma3R genotype may be viewed as being phase shifted in the rhythmic levels of GA20 and GA1 rather than as simply overproducing them. PMID:12228478

The MA domain of retroviral Gag proteins mediates association with the host cell membrane during assembly. The biochemical nature of this interaction is not well understood. We have used an in vitro flotation assay to directly measure Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) MA-membrane interaction in the absence of host cell factors. The association of purified MA and MA-containing proteins with liposomes of defined composition was electrostatic in nature and depended upon the presence of a biologically relevant concentration of negatively charged lipids. A mutant MA protein known to be unable to promote Gag membrane association and budding in vivo failed to bind to liposomes. These results were supported by computational modeling. The intrinsic affinity of RSV MA for negatively charged membranes appears insufficient to promote efficient plasma membrane binding during assembly. However, an artificially dimerized form of MA bound to liposomes by at least an order of magnitude more tightly than monomeric MA. This result suggests that the clustering of MA domains, via Gag-Gag interactions during virus assembly, drives membrane association in vivo. PMID:15858007

As a spectroscopic imaging survey, MaNGA presents a host of technical challenges ranging from spectrophotometic calibration to image reconstruction. I will present an overview of the MaNGA data reduction pipeline (DRP) and the algorithms used to process the MaNGA data. Additionally, I will describe the format and quality of the MaNGA data products, and the means by which the first year of survey data will be made publicly available in SDSS Data Release 13 (DR-13).

Massachusetts 02146 . Copies of this report will be made available to the public, upon request to this office, under the Freedom of Information Act...Ownership. Ames Pond Dam is owned by the Beacon Mortgage, Inc. 1425 Beacon St., Brookline, MA 02146 . Tele: 617-232-7850. An Engineering Report shown...Brookline, MA 02146 . Tele: 617-232-7850. g. Purpose of Dam. The dam impounds a pond used for recreational purposes. 3

Paraneoplastic Ma1 (PNMA1) is a member of a family of proteins involved in an autoimmune disorder called paraneoplastic neurological syndrome. Although it is widely expressed in brain, nothing is known about the function of PNMA1 in neurons. We find that PNMA1 expression is highest in the perinatal brain, a period during which developmentally regulated neuronal death occurs. PNMA1 expression increases in cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) induced to die by low potassium (LK) and in cortical neurons following homocysteic acid (HCA) treament. Elevated PNMA1 expression is also observed in the degenerating striatum in two separate mouse models of Huntington's disease, the R6/2 transgenic model and the 3-nitropropionic acid-induced chemical model. Suppression of endogenous PNMA1 expression inhibits LK-induced neuronal apoptosis. Ectopic expression of PNMA1 promotes apoptosis even in medium containing high potassium, a condition that normally ensures survival of CGNs. Deletion of the N-terminal half of the PNMA1 protein abrogates its apoptotic activity, whereas deletion of the C-terminal half renders the protein more toxic. Within the N-terminal half, the ability to induce neuronal death depends on the presence of a BH3-like domain. In addition to being necessary for apoptosis, the BH3-like domain is necessary for self-association of PNMA1. Apoptosis by PNMA1 expression is inhibited by overexpression of Bcl2, suggesting that PNMA1-induced neuronal death may depend on the binding of a proapoptotic member of the Bcl2 family to the BH3 domain. Taken together, our results suggest that PNMA1 is a proapoptotic protein in neurons, elevated expression of which may contribute to neurodegenerative disorders.

Three out of four acquisitions fail; they destroy wealth for the buyer's shareholders, who end up worse off than they would have been had the deal not been done. But it doesn't have to be that way, argue the authors. In evaluating acquisitions, companies must look beyond the lure of profits the income statement promises and examine the balance sheet, where the company keeps track of capital. It's ignoring the balance sheet that causes so many acquisitions to destroy shareholders' wealth. Unfortunately, most executives focus only on sales and profits going up, never realizing that they've put in motion a plan to destroy their company's true profitability--its return on invested capital. M&A, like other aspects of running a company, works best when seen as a way to create shareholder value through customers. Some deals are sought to help create better value propositions for the business or to better execute current strategies--or to block competitors from doing these things. But most deals are about customers and should start with an analysis of customer profitability. Some customers are deliciously profitable; others are dismal money losers. The better an acquirer understands the profitability of its own customers, the better positioned it will be to perform such analyses on other companies. In this article, the authors show that customer profitability varies far more dramatically than most managers suspect. They also describe how to measure the profitability of customers. By understanding the economics of customer profitability, companies can avoid making deals that hurt their shareholders, they can identify surprising deals that do create wealth, and they can salvage deals that would otherwise be losers.

The Hanford External Dosimetry Technical Basis Manual PNL-MA-842 documents the design and implementation of the external dosimetry system used at Hanford. The manual describes the dosimeter design, processing protocols, dose calculation methodology, radiation fields encountered, dosimeter response characteristics, limitations of dosimeter design under field conditions, and makes recommendations for effective use of the dosimeters in the field. The manual describes the technical basis for the dosimetry system in a manner intended to help ensure defensibility of the dose of record at Hanford and to demonstrate compliance with 10 CFR 835, DOELAP, DOE-RL, ORP, PNSO, and Hanford contractor requirements. The dosimetry system is operated by PNNL’s Hanford External Dosimetry Program (HEDP) which provides dosimetry services to all Hanford contractors. The primary users of this manual are DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford using the dosimetry services of PNNL. Development and maintenance of this manual is funded directly by DOE and DOE contractors. Its contents have been reviewed and approved by DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford through the Hanford Personnel Dosimetry Advisory Committee (HPDAC) which is chartered and chaired by DOE-RL and serves as means of coordinating dosimetry practices across contractors at Hanford. This manual was established in 1996. Since inception, it has been revised many times and maintained by PNNL as a controlled document with controlled distribution. The first revision to be released through PNNL’s Electronic Records & Information Capture Architecture (ERICA) database was designated Revision 0. Revision numbers that are whole numbers reflect major revisions typically involving changes to all chapters in the document. Revision numbers that include a decimal fraction reflect minor revisions, usually restricted to selected chapters or selected pages in the document.

... Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance § 308.528 Surety Bond A, Form MA-308. The Standard Form of Surety Bond A, Form MA-308, which may be obtained from the American War Risk Agency...

... Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance § 308.517 Open Cargo Policy, Form MA-300. The standard form of War Risk Open Cargo, Form MA-300, may be obtained from the American War...

M&A plays an increasingly important role in the contemporary business environment. Companies usually conduct M&A to pursue complementarity from other companies for preserving and/or extending their competitive advantages. For the given bidder company, a critical first step to the success of M&A activities is the appropriate selection of target companies. However, existing studies on M&A prediction incur several limitations, such as the exclusion of technological variables in M&A prediction models and the omission of the profile of the respective bidder company and its compatibility with candidate target companies. In response to these limitations, we propose an M&A prediction technique which not only encompasses technological variables derived from patent analysis as prediction indictors but also takes into account the profiles of both bidder and candidate target companies when building an M&A prediction model. We collect a set of real-world M&A cases to evaluate the proposed technique. The evaluation results are encouraging and will serve as a basis for future studies.

... travel and lodging where applicable); and (2) Reasonable compensation to the non-hospital site for... chapter. (3) There is a written agreement between the MA organization and the non-hospital site that... reasonable compensation to the non-hospital site for teaching activities. (c) An MA organization's...

... local and MA regional plans, as defined in § 422.2 unless specifically noted otherwise. (a) An... organization's contract for the plan or discontinued the plan in the area in which the individual resides, is eligible to elect another MA plan. If the plan so elected is later terminated or discontinued in the...

Marine sediment records document a gradual increase in aeolian dust supply from Africa over the last 3 Ma in the Atlantic, Gulf of Aden, and Mediterranean (Larrasoaña et al., 2003, deMenocal 2004), with 'steps' in period and amplitude at ~2.8 Ma, ~1.7 Ma, and ~1.0 Ma. However, Mediterranean sapropel sequences document regular, precession-paced wet/dry cycles from changes in the strength of the African monsoon and Nile runoff since at least the Miocene (Rossignol-Strick, 1985, Krijgsman et al., 1995, Lourens et al., 1996). The influence of long-term drying trends in Africa on the movements and strength of the African monsoon over the late Pliocene and Pleistocene is not understood. We have constructed a biomarker-based African climate record by analyzing concentrations and δ D from long-chain, saturated fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) in eastern Mediterranean ODP Site 967 sediments from 2.8 - 3.1 Ma and 1.6 - 1.8 Ma. Long-chain fatty acids are produced in the leaf waxes of terrestrial plants (Eglinton and Hamilton, 1967) and are transported to marine sediments via aeolian and fluvial action. Sapropel sediments corresponding with precession minima and enhanced Nile River runoff (Rossignol-Strick, 1985) contain much higher concentrations of FAMEs than carbonate-rich sediments. Comparisons of the two intervals will be presented to illustrate changes in monsoon strength from 3 Ma to 1.6 Ma.

The European Master's Program in Gerontology (EuMaG) started in September 2003 with support from the European Commission. The EuMaG is a modular, 2-year, part-time international training program about the aging process and its societal implications. The multidisciplinary curriculum comprises four domains of gerontology (i.e., social gerontology,…

... § 422.54. (2) An individual enrolled in an MA plan that becomes an MA-PD plan on January 1, 2006, will...-PD plan offered by the same organization as of January 1, 2006. (4) An individual who has elected an... form with the organization or through other mechanisms as determined by CMS. (b)...

... § 422.54. (2) An individual enrolled in an MA plan that becomes an MA-PD plan on January 1, 2006, will...-PD plan offered by the same organization as of January 1, 2006. (4) An individual who has elected an... form with the organization or through other mechanisms as determined by CMS. (b)...

Ma Xiangbo was born in 1840 and became a pioneer of educational reform during the republican period. He was responsible for introducing the idea that science and humanities should be valued equally in liberal arts education, a concept that became key to the model of university education. Ma's view of education combined Western humanism and science…

... Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance § 308.528 Surety Bond A, Form MA-308. The Standard Form of Surety Bond A, Form MA-308, which may be obtained from the American War Risk Agency...

... Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance § 308.517 Open Cargo Policy, Form MA-300. The standard form of War Risk Open Cargo, Form MA-300, may be obtained from the American War...

... Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance § 308.517 Open Cargo Policy, Form MA-300. The standard form of War Risk Open Cargo, Form MA-300, may be obtained from the American War...

... Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance § 308.517 Open Cargo Policy, Form MA-300. The standard form of War Risk Open Cargo, Form MA-300, may be obtained from MARAD's underwriting agent or MARAD....

... Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance § 308.528 Surety Bond A, Form MA-308. The Standard Form of Surety Bond A, Form MA-308, which may be obtained from the American War Risk Agency...

... Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance § 308.528 Surety Bond A, Form MA-308. The Standard Form of Surety Bond A, Form MA-308, which may be obtained from the American War Risk Agency...

... Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance § 308.517 Open Cargo Policy, Form MA-300. The standard form of War Risk Open Cargo, Form MA-300, may be obtained from the American War...

Presents lessons learned by following M.A. candidates who were supported by California State University, Los Angeles, as they pursued National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification. Discusses the introduction of NBPTS certification to M.A. candidates, launching certification projects, and what NBPTS certification…

Using an up-to-date global plate rotation model, applied to the end points of preserved major spreading ridge isochrons, we have calculated the explicitly reconstructable length-weighted mean global half-spreading rate, ridge length, and area production as a function of time since the end of the Cretaceous Normal Superchron at 83.0 Ma. Our calculations integrate uncertainties in rotation parameters and chron boundary ages with the partial sampling uncertainties arising from progressive subduction of older oceanic lithosphere and its preserved spreading record. This record of directly reconstructable oceanic ridge production provides a well-constrained baseline that can be compared to reconstructions that include the largely unconstrained extrapolated histories of entirely subducted oceanic plates. The directly reconstructable global mean half-spreading rate has not varied by more than ± 15% about an average rate of 28.4 ± 4.6 mm/a since 83 Ma. No long-term secular trend is evident: a maximum global mean half-rate of 32 ± 6 mm/a occurred from 33.1 Ma to about 25.8 Ma, with minima of 26 ± 5 mm/a between about 56 Ma and 40.2 Ma, and 24 ± 1 mm/a since 3.2 Ma. Only this most recent interval has a rate that differs significantly (at ± 2σ) from the long-term mean. The global, reconstructable ridge length at 56 Ma decreases by less than 15% relative to the modern ridge system; by 83 Ma it has decreased by 38%. These relatively high preserved ridge fractions mean that the estimated uncertainty due to partial sampling stays roughly equivalent to the estimated rotation model uncertainties, allowing long-term spreading rate variations of > 20% since the Late Cretaceous to be ruled out. In contrast, prior to 83 Ma too little oceanic lithosphere is preserved to reliably reconstruct global spreading rates.

Spindle positioning is essential for tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis. The signaling network synchronizing spindle placement with mitotic progression relies on timely recruitment at the cell cortex of NuMA:LGN:Gαi complexes, in which NuMA acts as a receptor for the microtubule motor Dynein. To study the implication of Aurora-A in spindle orientation, we developed protocols for the partial inhibition of its activity. Under these conditions, in metaphase NuMA and Dynein accumulate abnormally at the spindle poles and do not reach the cortex, while the cortical distribution of LGN remains unperturbed. FRAP experiments revealed that Aurora-A governs the dynamic exchange between the cytoplasmic and the spindle pole-localized pools of NuMA. We show that Aurora-A phosphorylates directly the C terminus of NuMA on three Ser residues, of which Ser1969 determines the dynamic behavior and the spindle orientation functions of NuMA. Most interestingly, we identify a new microtubule-binding domain of NuMA, which does not overlap with the LGN-binding motif. Our study demonstrates that in metaphase the direct phosphorylation of NuMA by Aurora-A controls its cortical enrichment, and that this is the major event underlying the spindle orientation functions of Aurora-A in transformed and non-transformed cells in culture. Phosphorylation of NuMA by Aurora-A does not affect its affinity for microtubules or for LGN but rather determines the mobility of the protein at the spindle poles. The finding that NuMA can associate concomitantly with LGN and microtubules suggests that its microtubule-binding activity contributes to anchor Dynein-loaded microtubule +TIPs at cortical sites with LGN.

The Hanford External Dosimetry Technical Basis Manual PNL-MA-842 documents the design and implementation of the external dosimetry system used at Hanford. The manual describes the dosimeter design, processing protocols, dose calculation methodology, radiation fields encountered, dosimeter response characteristics, limitations of dosimeter design under field conditions, and makes recommendations for effective use of the dosimeters in the field. The manual describes the technical basis for the dosimetry system in a manner intended to help ensure defensibility of the dose of record at Hanford and to demonstrate compliance with 10 CFR 835, DOELAP, DOE-RL, ORP, PNSO, and Hanford contractor requirements. The dosimetry system is operated by PNNL’s Hanford External Dosimetry Program (HEDP) which provides dosimetry services to all Hanford contractors. The primary users of this manual are DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford using the dosimetry services of PNNL. Development and maintenance of this manual is funded directly by DOE and DOE contractors. Its contents have been reviewed and approved by DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford through the Hanford Personnel Dosimetry Advisory Committee (HPDAC) which is chartered and chaired by DOE-RL and serves as means of coordinating dosimetry practices across contractors at Hanford. This manual was established in 1996. Since inception, it has been revised many times and maintained by PNNL as a controlled document with controlled distribution. Rev. 0 marks the first revision to be released through PNNL’s Electronic Records & Information Capture Architecture (ERICA) database. Revision numbers that are whole numbers reflect major revisions typically involving changes to all chapters in the document. Revision numbers that include a decimal fraction reflect minor revisions, usually restricted to selected chapters or selected pages in the document. Revision Log: Rev. 0 (2/25/2005) Major revision and expansion. Rev. 0.1 (3/12/2007) Minor

The Salem Sound watershed (MA) historically has been a region of significant industrial activity. Two specific point sources for pollution in the region are the South Essex Sewerage District (SESD) wastewater treatment facility, and the Salem Harbor Power Station, a coal-burning power plant. This study tests the hypothesis that human impact on Salem Sound is preserved in the sediment record. A sediment core was taken near the location of the SESD outfall. This core was analyzed for content of organic matter via loss on ignition (LOI), as well as magnetic susceptibility. An age model was constructed using 137Cs and 210Pb. Below 31 cm (mid-nineteenth century), the core contains mean background values of 2.7% LOI and values increase above this depth. At 21cm, a rapid increase in organic matter concentration from 6.6% to 11.8% is observed. This depth corresponds to ~1905 which is contemporaneous with construction of the outfall pipe discharging raw wastewater. At a depth of 7 cm (mid 1970s), LOI values decrease from 11.7% to 9.3%. This shift is likely attributed to SESD beginning primary treatment in 1977. LOI values continue to drop at 2cm (late 1990s), from 7.8% to 6.3%, and remain at 6.1% to the modern surface, likely a result of SESD upgrading to secondary treatment in 1998. Magnetic susceptibility also shows variability down core that is likely attributed to human impact. At a depth of approximately 20cm susceptibility values start increasing from 4.2 SI units until they reach a peak at 15cm (8.8 SI units). This increase can be attributed to the industrial revolution and increased industrial activity in the area. A decrease in susceptibility is observed at 15cm to 11cm (5.6 SI units) that may be attributed to the Great Depression and less fossil fuels being burned due to the economic situation. At approximately 10cm and 8.0 SI units, an increasing trend is first observed. This trend continues up to the modern surface where it eventually reaches 19.9 SI units. This

The Hanford External Dosimetry Technical Basis Manual PNL-MA-842 documents the design and implementation of the external dosimetry system used at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford site. The manual describes the dosimeter design, processing protocols, dose calculation methodology, radiation fields encountered, dosimeter response characteristics, limitations of dosimeter design under field conditions, and makes recommendations for effective use of the dosimeters in the field. The manual describes the technical basis for the dosimetry system in a manner intended to help ensure defensibility of the dose of record at Hanford and to demonstrate compliance with requirements of 10 CFR 835, the DOE Laboratory Accreditation Program, the DOE Richland Operations Office, DOE Office of River Protection, DOE Pacific Northwest Office of Science, and Hanford’s DOE contractors. The dosimetry system is operated by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Hanford External Dosimetry Program which provides dosimetry services to PNNL and all Hanford contractors. The primary users of this manual are DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford using the dosimetry services of PNNL. Development and maintenance of this manual is funded directly by DOE and DOE contractors. Its contents have been reviewed and approved by DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford through the Hanford Personnel Dosimetry Advisory Committee which is chartered and chaired by DOE-RL and serves as means of coordinating dosimetry practices across contractors at Hanford. This manual was established in 1996. Since its inception, it has been revised many times and maintained by PNNL as a controlled document with controlled distribution. The first revision to be released through PNNL’s Electronic Records & Information Capture Architecture database was designated Revision 0. Revision numbers that are whole numbers reflect major revisions typically involving significant changes to all chapters in the document. Revision

The Hanford External Dosimetry Technical Basis Manual PNL-MA-842 documents the design and implementation of the external dosimetry system used at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford site. The manual describes the dosimeter design, processing protocols, dose calculation methodology, radiation fields encountered, dosimeter response characteristics, limitations of dosimeter design under field conditions, and makes recommendations for effective use of the dosimeters in the field. The manual describes the technical basis for the dosimetry system in a manner intended to help ensure defensibility of the dose of record at Hanford and to demonstrate compliance with requirements of 10 CFR 835, the DOE Laboratory Accreditation Program, the DOE Richland Operations Office, DOE Office of River Protection, DOE Pacific Northwest Office of Science, and Hanford’s DOE contractors. The dosimetry system is operated by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Hanford External Dosimetry Program which provides dosimetry services to PNNL and all Hanford contractors. The primary users of this manual are DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford using the dosimetry services of PNNL. Development and maintenance of this manual is funded directly by DOE and DOE contractors. Its contents have been reviewed and approved by DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford through the Hanford Personnel Dosimetry Advisory Committee which is chartered and chaired by DOE-RL and serves as means of coordinating dosimetry practices across contractors at Hanford. This manual was established in 1996. Since its inception, it has been revised many times and maintained by PNNL as a controlled document with controlled distribution. The first revision to be released through PNNL’s Electronic Records & Information Capture Architecture database was designated Revision 0. Revision numbers that are whole numbers reflect major revisions typically involving significant changes to all chapters in the document. Revision

We are measuring total mercury (HgT) and monomethylmercury (CH3Hg+ or MMHg) in pore water, surface water, and sediment cores from two salt marsh pond systems on the south shore of Cape Cod, MA to characterize the distribution of mercury species and to identify features that influence mercury speciation and transport. Sage Lot Pond is relatively undisturbed and has low nitrogen loading (12 kg ha-1 y-1). It is part of the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Reserve and is surrounded by undeveloped wooded uplands. In contrast, Great Pond is highly impacted. Nitrogen loading to the site is elevated (600 kg ha-1 y-1) and the marsh is adjacent to a large residential area. In both systems, a 1 to 2 m organic-rich peat layer overlies the permeable sand aquifer. Groundwater in this region is typically oxic, where pore water within salt marsh peat is suboxic to anoxic. We hypothesize that redox gradients at the transition from the root zone to peat and at the peat-sand interface may provide habitat for MMHg-producing anaerobic bacteria. Preliminary results from a 2-m nearshore depth profile at Sage Lot Pond indicate HgT in groundwater within the sand aquifer occurred primarily in the > 0.2 μm fraction, with unfiltered concentrations exceeding 100 pM. Filtered (< 0.2 μm) HgT in groundwater was substantially lower (~ 5 pM). In contrast, HgT concentrations in filtered and unfiltered pore water within the peat layer were similar and ranged from about 2 to 3 pM. Complexation between mercury and dissolved organic carbon may account for the elevated fraction of filtered HgT in peat pore water. Although MMHg in both groundwater and pore water remained around 1 pM throughout our depth profile, we observed an increase in sediment MMHg (0.3 to 1.6 μg/kg) at the peat-sand interface. MMHg comprised ~50% of the HgT concentration in pore water suggesting mercury in the salt marsh peat is biologically available.

The clockwise bend at 99 Ma (mid-Cretaceous) in linear volcanic chains in the tropical Pacific coincides with a change from pre-99 Ma head-on Chilean-type subduction of the Pacific plate beneath eastern Gondwana to 99 43 Ma sinistral oblique Mariana-type subduction and strike-slip breakup by simple sea-floor spreading between Australia and Antarctica and by backarc spreading in the southwest Pacific. The 99 Ma breakup of Australia from Antarctica is documented by a mid-Cretaceous unconformity. This tectono-stratigraphic change founded modern Australia, with a mountain chain along an upper plate margin in the east and lowlands on the lower plate margin in the south. The counterclockwise bend at 43 Ma (mid-Eocene)—the Emperor-Hawaiian bend—coincides with the onset of structure in the Challenger Rift of New Zealand, the Eromanga-Cooper basin of central Australia, and the oil-shale grabens of coastal Queensland.

Zircons are crucial to understanding the first 500 Myr of crustal evolution of Earth. Very few zircons of this age (>4050 Ma) have been found other than from a ~300 km diameter domain of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia. Here we report SIMS U-Pb and O isotope ratios and trace element analyses for two ~4100 Ma detrital zircons from a Paleozoic quartzite at the Longquan area of the Cathaysia Block. One zircon ((207)Pb/(206)Pb age of 4127 ± 4 Ma) shows normal oscillatory zonation and constant oxygen isotope ratios (δ(18)O = 5.8 to 6.0‰). The other zircon grain has a ~4100 Ma magmatic core surrounded by a ~4070 Ma metamorphic mantle. The magmatic core has elevated δ(18)O (7.2 ± 0.2‰), high titanium concentration (53 ± 3.4 ppm) and a positive cerium anomaly, yielding anomalously high calculated oxygen fugacity (FMQ + 5) and a high crystallization temperature (910°C). These results are unique among Hadean zircons and suggest a granitoid source generated from dry remelting of partly oxidizing supracrustal sediments altered by surface waters. The ~4100 Ma dry melting and subsequent ~4070 Ma metamorphism provide new evidence for the diversity of the Earth's earliest crust.

Zircons are crucial to understanding the first 500 Myr of crustal evolution of Earth. Very few zircons of this age (>4050 Ma) have been found other than from a ~300 km diameter domain of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia. Here we report SIMS U-Pb and O isotope ratios and trace element analyses for two ~4100 Ma detrital zircons from a Paleozoic quartzite at the Longquan area of the Cathaysia Block. One zircon (207Pb/206Pb age of 4127 +/- 4 Ma) shows normal oscillatory zonation and constant oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O = 5.8 to 6.0‰). The other zircon grain has a ~4100 Ma magmatic core surrounded by a ~4070 Ma metamorphic mantle. The magmatic core has elevated δ18O (7.2 +/- 0.2‰), high titanium concentration (53 +/- 3.4 ppm) and a positive cerium anomaly, yielding anomalously high calculated oxygen fugacity (FMQ + 5) and a high crystallization temperature (910°C). These results are unique among Hadean zircons and suggest a granitoid source generated from dry remelting of partly oxidizing supracrustal sediments altered by surface waters. The ~4100 Ma dry melting and subsequent ~4070 Ma metamorphism provide new evidence for the diversity of the Earth's earliest crust.

Lactobacillus plantarum MA2 was isolated from traditional Chinese Tibet kefir grains, which possess several excellent properties and functions. We previously demonstrated the antioxidant activities of this bacterium in vitro. However, the maintenance and survival of L. plantarum MA2 inside the murine intestinal tract, where it exerts its probiotic properties, and whether its effects are elicited directly on the host remain unknown. Therefore, this study investigated the mechanisms of L. plantarum MA2 in aging mice following D-galactose administration. The levels of malondialdehyde decreased significantly in the L. plantarum MA2 groups after oral ingestion compared to the D-galactose model group, and total antioxidant capacity and glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities increased significantly in the serum and liver. We combined fluorescein isothiocyanate labeling and green fluorescent protein expression to dynamically monitor the colonization and distribution of L. plantarum MA2 in the murine intestinal tract. The results indicated that L. plantarum MA2 was detected in the ileum, colon, and feces after single and continuous oral administration at day 21 and was maintained at 10(4)-10(5) CFU/g. These results suggest that L. plantarum MA2 colonizes and survives in the murine intestinal tract to exert its antioxidative effects.

Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels have been widely used for various biomedical applications due to their suitable biological properties and tunable physical characteristics. Three dimensional (3D) GelMA hydrogels closely resemble some essential properties of native extracellular matrix (ECM) due to the presence of cell-attaching and matrix metalloproteinase responsive peptide motifs, which allow cells to proliferate and spread in GelMA-based scaffolds. GelMA is also versatile from a processing perspective. It crosslinks when exposed to light irradiation to form hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties which mimic the native ECM. It can also be microfabricated using different methodologies including micromolding, photomasking, bioprinting, self-assembly, and microfluidic techniques to generate constructs with controlled architectures. Hybrid hydrogel systems can also be formed by mixing GelMA with nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide, and other polymers to form networks with desired combined properties and characteristics for specific biological applications. Recent research has demonstrated the proficiency of GelMA-based hydrogels in a wide range of applications including engineering of bone, cartilage, cardiac, and vascular tissues, among others. Other applications of GelMA hydrogels, besides tissue engineering, include fundamental single-single cell research, cell signaling, drug and gene delivery, and bio-sensing. PMID:26414409

The Hanford External Dosimetry Technical Basis Manual PNL-MA-842 documents the design and implementation of the external dosimetry system used at Hanford. The manual describes the dosimeter design, processing protocols, dose calculation methodology, radiation fields encountered, dosimeter response characteristics, limitations of dosimeter design under field conditions, and makes recommendations for effective use of the dosimeters in the field. The manual describes the technical basis for the dosimetry system in a manner intended to help ensure defensibility of the dose of record at Hanford and to demonstrate compliance with 10 CFR 835, DOELAP, DOE-RL, ORP, PNSO, and Hanford contractor requirements. The dosimetry system is operated by PNNL’s Hanford External Dosimetry Program (HEDP) which provides dosimetry services to all Hanford contractors. The primary users of this manual are DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford using the dosimetry services of PNNL. Development and maintenance of this manual is funded directly by DOE and DOE contractors. Its contents have been reviewed and approved by DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford through the Hanford Personnel Dosimetry Advisory Committee (HPDAC) which is chartered and chaired by DOE-RL and serves as means of coordinating dosimetry practices across contractors at Hanford. This manual was established in 1996. Since its inception, it has been revised many times and maintained by PNNL as a controlled document with controlled distribution. The first revision to be released through PNNL’s Electronic Records & Information Capture Architecture (ERICA) database was designated Revision 0. Revision numbers that are whole numbers reflect major revisions typically involving significant changes to all chapters in the document. Revision numbers that include a decimal fraction reflect minor revisions, usually restricted to selected chapters or selected pages in the document. Maintenance and distribution of controlled hard copies of the

Using an up-to-date global plate rotation model, applied to the endpoints of preserved major spreading ridge isochrons, we have calculated the explicitly reconstructable length-weighted mean global half-spreading rate (HSR), ridge length and area production as a function of time since the end of the Cretaceous Normal Superchron at 83.0 Ma. Our calculations integrate uncertainties in rotation parameters and chron boundary ages with the partial sampling uncertainties arising from progressive subduction of older oceanic lithosphere and its preserved spreading record. This record of directly reconstructable oceanic ridge production provides a well-constrained baseline that can be compared to reconstructions that include the largely unconstrained extrapolated histories of entirely subducted oceanic plates. The directly reconstructable global mean HSR has not varied by more than ±15 per cent about an average rate of 28.4 ± 4.6 mm a-1 since 83 Ma. No long-term secular trend is evident: a maximum global mean half-rate of 32 ± 6 mm a-1 occurred from 33.1 Ma to about 25.8 Ma, with minima of 26 ± 5 mm a-1 between about 56 and 40.2 Ma, and 24 ± 1 mm a-1 since 3.2 Ma. Only this most recent interval has a rate that differs significantly (at ±2σ) from the long-term mean. The global, reconstructable ridge length at 56 Ma decreases by less than 15 per cent relative to the modern ridge system; by 83 Ma it has decreased by 38 per cent. These relatively high preserved ridge fractions mean that the estimated uncertainty due to partial sampling stays roughly equivalent to the estimated rotation model uncertainties, allowing long-term spreading rate variations of >20 per cent since the Late Cretaceous to be ruled out. In contrast, prior to 83 Ma too little oceanic lithosphere is preserved to reliably reconstruct global spreading rates.

The alkali-calcic Castle Mountains Volcanic rocks (CMV) are host to major gold mineralization. They are located about 100 km south of Las Vegas, Nevada and are on the boundary between the Basin and Range Province and Colorado River extensional corridor (35[degree]18 minutes 45 seconds N, 115[degree]05 minutes 10 seconds W). New data show the following chronology. 22 Ma. A regional rhyolite ash-flow tuff, the Castle Mountain Tuff member, was deposited on a Proterozoic-Paleozoic basement of low relief. <22 Ma - > 17 Ma. Normal faulting (N30--60[degree]W, 60--65[degree]NE) formed half-grabens. Latite and basalt flows, minor ash-flow tuffs, lahars and sediments (Jacks Well member - JW) were deposited unconformably. JW magmas are enriched in light REE compared to the younger CMV. <17 Ma to 15.5 Ma. Oxidizing upper portions (796 C) of a shallowly emplaced silicic melt erupted to form the high-silica rhyolite dome complexes and intrusives (Linder Peak member - LP) of the NNE-striking Castle Mountains. NW-striking transverse structures caused discontinuities in strike direction of the subvolcanic intrusive and domes and helped form a synvolcanic depression. During a hiatus in volcanism, early Hart Peak member (HP) sediments were deposited marginal to the Castle Mountains. Major gold mineralization and widespread hydrothermal alteration occurred at about 15.5 Ma. 16 Ma to 14 Ma. Early HP volcaniclastic sediments, rhyolite pyroclastic-surge tuff, and basaltic flows, were deposited during late hydrothermal alteration and then fractured and displaced by NNE-striking normal faults, especially in the eastern and northeastern CMV. < 14 Ma. Tectonically significant flat-lying boulder conglomerate and unconformably overlying, largely andesitic flows fill depressions in the Castle Mountains and the Piute Range to the east.

We present a unique, alkenone-based record of sea surface temperatures spanning 13 Ma to 6 Ma from the uplifted, pelagic, Mediterranean sequence at Monte dei Corvi. The thick salt layers resulting from the isolation of the Mediterranean have so far been an obstacle to conventional drilling in obtaining a high-resolution, continuous record of the basin's conditions prior to ~6 Ma. This is especially important when reconstructing the climate conditions that preceded and contributed to the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Uplifted sections allow access to this otherwise unresolved time period. Planktonic d18O records from uplifted marine sections exist; however, they are hampered by the lack of independent temperature reconstruction in order to detangle the competing influence of both temperature and salinity on such data. Using alkenone paleothermometry we show that the Late Miocene Mediterranean Sea was notably warmer than present with SSTs equivalent and even higher than the warmest parts of the modern ocean. Between ~ 12.9 Ma to ~8.1 Ma temperatures hovered close to 28oC and possibly even higher. At ~8.1 Ma, concurrent with notable changes in the vegetation pattern of the area as well as globally, sea surface temperatures show a distinct cooling trend punctuated with a cold episode at ~7 Ma which coincides with the first appearance of desert conditions in the Sahara. The cooling trend continues up to the Messinian Salinity Crisis at which point marine sedimentation was interrupted at the site. Our dataset contains four high-resolution windows where we examine the precession scale SST changes that contributed to sapropel formation and comparing them with the regime established for the Plio-Pleistocene. The reconstructed sea surface temperatures allow us to reconstruct the paleo-salinity of the Mediterranean leading up to the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The uncorrected the published d18O planktonic records show a sharp enrichment at ~7.5 Ma. Once corrected for temperature

Los Alamos National Laboratory has developed a concept for a new research facility, MaRIE: Matter-Radiation Interactions in Extremes. The key motivation for MaRIE is to develop new experimental capabilities needed to fill the existing gaps in our fundamental understanding of materials important for key National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) goals. MaRIE will bring two major new capabilities: (a) the ability to characterize the meso- and microstructure of materials in bulk as well as local dynamic response characteristics, and (b) the ability to characterize how this microstructure evolves under NNSA-relevant conditions and impacts the material’s performance in this regime.

A robust data link protocol, enabling unique physical and MAC layer technologies and sub-network level protocols, is needed in order to take advantage of the full potential of using both TDMA and CDMA in a satellite communication network. A novel MAC layer protocol, TDMA with CDMA-encoding multiple access (TCeMA) integrated with null-steered digital beam-forming spatial multiplexing, is investigated to support flexible spacecraft communications. Abstract models of the TCeMA and TDMA processes are developed in OPNFiT and a comparison of the performances of TCeMA and TDMA in a satellite network simulation are made. TCeMA provides the better connectivity and capacity with respect to TDMA for satellite communication traffic.

... organizations for qualifying MA-affiliated eligible hospitals under common corporate governance are made under... common corporate governance under the Medicare FFS EHR incentive program, payment is made under the...

... organizations for qualifying MA-affiliated eligible hospitals under common corporate governance are made under... common corporate governance under the Medicare FFS EHR incentive program, payment is made under the...

... organizations for qualifying MA-affiliated eligible hospitals under common corporate governance are made under... common corporate governance under the Medicare FFS EHR incentive program, payment is made under the...

... organizations for qualifying MA-affiliated eligible hospitals under common corporate governance are made under... common corporate governance under the Medicare FFS EHR incentive program, payment is made under the...

... EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance... to be attached to the closing report, Form MA-313-A, may be obtained from the American War...

... EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance... application for cancellation of an Open Cargo Policy Form MA-304 may be obtained from the American War...

The Pacific plate moved northwest relative to North America since 42 Ma. The rapid half rate of Pacific-Farallon spreading allowed the ridge to approach the continent at about 29 Ma. Extinct spreading ridges that occur offshore along 65% of the margin document that fragments of the subducted Farallon slab became captured by the Pacific plate and assumed its motion proper to the actual subduction of the spreading ridge. This plate-capture process can be used to explain much of the post-29 Ma Cordilleran North America extension, strike slip, and the inland jump of oceanic spreading in the Gulf of California. Much of the post-29 Ma continental tectonism is the result of the strong traction imposed on the deep part of the continental crust by the gently inclined slab of subducted oceanic lithosphere as it moved to the northwest relative to the overlying continent. -from Authors

... organizations for qualifying MA-affiliated eligible hospitals under common corporate governance are made under... common corporate governance under the Medicare FFS EHR incentive program, payment is made under the...

... EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance... to be attached to the closing report, Form MA-313-A, may be obtained from the American War...

... EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance... application for cancellation of an Open Cargo Policy Form MA-304 may be obtained from the American War...

... EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance... application for cancellation of an Open Cargo Policy Form MA-304 may be obtained from the American War...

... EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance... to be attached to the closing report, Form MA-313-A, may be obtained from the American War...

... EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Ii-Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance... application for cancellation of an Open Cargo Policy Form MA-304 may be obtained from the American War...

Though uncommon throughout the Himalaya, eclogites have been documented in the Kaghan Valley of Pakistan, the Tso Morari dome in India, the Kharta region of Tibet, and the Makalu-Everest region of the Arun River valley in eastern Nepal. The Kaghan and Tso Morari UHP eclogites have been dated at ~50 Ma, and are commonly viewed as reflecting aborted subduction of the leading edge of the Indian plate during the initial stages of Indo- Asian collision. Here we show that the Arun eclogites are significantly younger, only ~21 Ma, so reflect either different origins, or substantial time lags in tectonics along strike. The Arun eclogites are stratigraphically continuous with the surrounding Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) felsic gneisses, and have been interpreted as metamorphosed basaltic sills. P-T conditions have been estimated at >14 kbar at 670-710 °C. The GHS in this region overlies Lesser Himalayan rocks along the Main Central Thrust (MCT), which can be traced for over 2000 km along strike. Lu-Hf dates from garnet separates in one relict eclogite indicate an age of 20.7±0.4 Ma (MSWD = 2.2). Five garnet amphibolites from nearby were also dated via Lu-Hf, and their ages range from 14-20 Ma (13.9±2.5, 14.1±0.3, 14.5±2.8, 15.1±0.6, and 19.8±1.1 Ma). The ~21 Ma age obtained from the eclogite postdates eclogite ages from the western Himalaya (Kaghan and Tso Morari) by ~30 Myr, and has important implications for tectonic models of Himalayan orogenesis. One possible model is that (aborted) subduction, slab breakoff, and ascent of India's leading edge occurred diachronously: ~50 Ma in the western Himalaya, ~20 Ma in eastern Nepal, and presumably even younger in the eastern Himalaya. Alternatively, because the Arun eclogites did not reach ultra-high pressure conditions seen by western eclogites (only ≥45, not ≥90 km depth), they may simply reflect deepening or longer transport of the MCT in the Arun area. Regardless, a ~21 Ma age for these eclogites combined with

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) comprises Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). IBD increases the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), depending on the extent and duration of intestinal inflammation. Increased IL-6 expression has been reported in IBD patients, which may be associated with intestinal barrier function through discontinuous tight junction (TJ). KIOM-MA is a specific agent for allergic diseases and cancer, and it is composed of several plants; these herbs have been used in traditional oriental medicine. We fermented KIOM-MA, the product of KIOM-MA128, using probiotics to improve the therapeutic efficacy via the absorption and bioavailability of the active ingredients. In this study, we demonstrated that KIOM-MA/MA128 exhibited anticolitis effects via the modulation of TJ protein. Interleukin-6 resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in the TER and an increase in the FITC-dextran permeability; however, pretreatment with 400 µg/ml KIOM-MA/MA128 resulted in a significant increase in the TER and a decrease in the FITC-dextran permeability via IL-6 induction. Furthermore, protein and mRNA TJ levels remained stable after pretreatment with 400 µg/ml KIOM-MA/MA128. Moreover, KIOM-MA/MA128 suppressed the expression of PLCγ1 and PKC. Taken together, these findings suggest novel information and clue of the anticolitis effects of KIOM-MA128 via regulation of tight junction. PMID:27980357

... Procedures Including Form MA 8-7, Extension Without Revisions AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration... collection of data consistent with 20 CFR 601, including Form MA 8-7, which expires June 30, 2013. DATES.... The information transmitted by Form MA 8-7 is used by the Secretary to make findings (as specified...

Gelatin-methacryloyl (GelMA) is one of the most commonly used photopolymerizable biomaterials in bio-applications. However, GelMA synthesis remains suboptimal, as its reaction parameters have not been fully investigated. The goal of this study is to establish an optimal route for effective and controllable GelMA synthesis by systematically examining reaction parameters including carbonate-bicarbonate (CB) buffer molarity, initial pH adjustment, MAA concentration, gelatin concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time. We employed several analytical techniques in order to determine the degree of substitution (DS) and conducted detailed structural analysis of the synthesized polymer. The results enabled us to optimize GelMA synthesis, showing the optimal conditions to balance the deprotonation of amino groups with minimizing MAA hydrolysis, which led to nearly complete substitution. The optimized conditions (low feed ratio of MAA to gelatin (0.1 mL/g), 0.25 M CB buffer at pH 9, and a gelatin concentration of 10–20%) enable a simplified reaction scheme that produces GelMA with high substitution with just one-step addition of MAA in one pot. Looking forward, these optimal conditions not only enable facile one-pot GelMA synthesis but can also guide researchers to explore the efficient, high methacrylation of other biomacromolecules.

During a 1-year survey of enteroviruses in wastewater samples from the Lorraine area, three widely used continuous monkey kidney cell lines were tested: BGM, Vero, and trypsin-treated Ma-104. Decontaminated samples from secondary wastewater treatment plants (influent or effluent) were directly inoculated onto cells, and viruses were revealed after two passages with a liquid medium technique. Out of the total percentage of positive isolates with the three systems (32.7) 24.7% were found with Ma-104, 14.1% with BGM, and only 1.7% with Vero cells. Poliovirus was recovered more frequently with Ma-104 (12.3%) than with BGM (1.7%). Reovirus (3.5%) and echovirus (1.7%) were only found with Ma-104 cells; however, BGM cells allowed the isolation of a few group B coxsackieviruses (5.9%). It must be pointed out that 7.0% of samples with an unconfirmed cytopathic effect were found with BGM against 3.4% found with Ma-104, but they did not have significant differences. Because of its large spectrum of sensitivity, easy maintenance, and resistance to toxic effects, trypsin-treated Ma-104 may be recommended in conjunction with other cell lines for the detection of viruses from environmental samples, especially with the use of a liquid method. PMID:6324675

Gelatin-methacryloyl (GelMA) is one of the most commonly used photopolymerizable biomaterials in bio-applications. However, GelMA synthesis remains suboptimal, as its reaction parameters have not been fully investigated. The goal of this study is to establish an optimal route for effective and controllable GelMA synthesis by systematically examining reaction parameters including carbonate-bicarbonate (CB) buffer molarity, initial pH adjustment, MAA concentration, gelatin concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time. We employed several analytical techniques in order to determine the degree of substitution (DS) and conducted detailed structural analysis of the synthesized polymer. The results enabled us to optimize GelMA synthesis, showing the optimal conditions to balance the deprotonation of amino groups with minimizing MAA hydrolysis, which led to nearly complete substitution. The optimized conditions (low feed ratio of MAA to gelatin (0.1 mL/g), 0.25 M CB buffer at pH 9, and a gelatin concentration of 10–20%) enable a simplified reaction scheme that produces GelMA with high substitution with just one-step addition of MAA in one pot. Looking forward, these optimal conditions not only enable facile one-pot GelMA synthesis but can also guide researchers to explore the efficient, high methacrylation of other biomacromolecules. PMID:27503340

We investigate active galactic nuclei (AGN) as a primary mechanism affecting star formation in MaNGA galaxies. Using the Pipe3D code, we modeled the stellar population from MaNGA spectra and derived the star formation histories of 53 AGN host galaxies. We seek to compare the star formation histories of the host galaxies of AGN with the ages of their radio lobes to better understand the role of AGN feedback in the star formation histories of MaNGA galaxies. MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO) is one of the three core programs in the fourth generation Sloan Digital Sky Survey(SDSS). MaNGA will investigate the internal kinematics of nearly 10,000 local galaxies through dithered observations using fiber integral field units (IFUs) that vary in diameter from 12" (19 fibers) to 32" (127 fibers). In this poster, we present initial results on the star formation histories of MaNGA AGN host galaxies. This work was supported by the SDSS Research Experience for Undergraduates program, which is funded by a grant from Sloan Foundation to the Astrophysical Research Consortium.

This paper presents a simulator for of a decentralized modular grid scheduler named MaGate. MaGate’s design emphasizes scheduler interoperability by providing intelligent scheduling serving the grid community as a whole. Each MaGate scheduler instance is able to deal with dynamic scheduling conditions, with continuously arriving grid jobs. Received jobs are either allocated on local resources, or delegated to other MaGates for remote execution. The proposed MaGate simulator is based on GridSim toolkit and Alea simulator, and abstracts the features and behaviors of complex fundamental grid elements, such as grid jobs, grid resources, and grid users. Simulation of scheduling tasks is supported by a grid network overlay simulator executing distributed ant-based swarm intelligence algorithms to provide services such as group communication and resource discovery. For evaluation, a comparison of behaviors of different collaborative policies among a community of MaGates is provided. Results support the use of the proposed approach as a functional ready grid scheduler simulator.

We present new rotations that describe the relative positions and velocities of the Pacific and North America plates at 22 times during the past 19.7 Myr, offering ≈1-Myr temporal resolution for studies of the geotectonic evolution of western North America and other plate boundary locations. Derived from ≈18 000 magnetic reversal, fracture zone and transform fault identifications from the Pacific-Antarctic-Nubia-North America plate circuit and the velocities of 935 GPS sites on the Pacific and North America plates, the new rotations and GPS-derived angular velocity indicate that the rate of motion between the two plates increased by ≈70 per cent from 19.7 to 9±1 Ma, but changed by less than 2 per cent since 8 Ma and even less since 4.2 Ma. The rotations further suggest that the relative plate direction has rotated clockwise for most of the past 20 Myr, with a possible hiatus from 9 to 5 Ma. This conflicts with previously reported evidence for a significant clockwise change in the plate direction at ≈8-6 Ma. Our new rotations indicate that Pacific plate motion became obliquely convergent with respect to the San Andreas Fault of central California at 5.2-4.2 Ma, in agreement with geological evidence for a Pliocene onset of folding and faulting in central California. Our reconstruction of the northern Gulf of California at 6.3 Ma differs by only 15-30 km from structurally derived reconstructions after including 3-4 km Myr-1 of geodetically measured slip between the Baja California Peninsula and Pacific plate. This implies an approximate 15-30 km upper bound for plate non-rigidity integrated around the global circuit at 6.3 Ma. A much larger 200±54 km discrepancy between our reconstruction of the northern Gulf of California at 12 Ma and that estimated from structural and marine geophysical observations suggests that faults in northwestern Mexico or possibly west of the Baja California Peninsula accommodated large amounts of obliquely divergent dextral shear

BACKGROUND A novel murine mitochondria-associated neutral sphingomyelinase (MA-nSMase) has been recently cloned and partially characterized. The subcellular localization of the enzyme was found to be predominantly in mitochondria. In this work, the determinants of mitochondrial localization and its topology were investigated. METHODS MA-nSMase mutants lacking consecutive regions and fusion proteins of GFP with truncated MA-nSMase regions were constructed and expressed in MCF-7 cells. Its localization was analyzed using confocal microscopy and sub-cellular fractionation methods. The sub-mitochondrial localization of MA-nSMase was determined using protease protection assay on isolated mitochondria. RESULTS The results initially showed that a putative mitochondrial localization signal (MLS), homologous to an MLS in the zebra-fish mitochondrial SMase is not necessary for the mitochondrial localization of the murine MA-nSMase. Evidence is provided to the presence of two regions in MA-nSMase that are sufficient for mitochondrial localization: a signal sequence (amino acids 24–6) that is responsible for the mitochondrial localization and an additional 'signal-anchor' sequence (amino acids 77–99) that anchors the protein to the mitochondrial membrane. This protein is topologically located in the outer mitochondrial membrane where both the C and N-termini remain exposed to the cytosol. CONCLUSIONS MA-nSMase is a membrane anchored protein with a MLS and a signal-anchor sequence at its N-terminal to localize it to the outer mitochondrial membrane. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE Mitochondrial sphingolipids have been reported to play a critical role in cellular viability. This study opens a new window to investigate their cellular functions, and to define novel therapeutic targets. PMID:25484313

A review of the geochronology, geochemistry and distribution of the 1380 Ma Mashak Large Igneous Province (LIP) of the eastern margin of the East European craton indicates a potential link to a major breakup stage of the Mesoproterozoic supercontinent Columbia (Nuna), link to a major stratigraphic boundary (Lowe-Middle Riphean), and economic significance for hydrocarbons and metallogeny. Specifically, the Mashak event likely has much greater extent than previously realized. Two U-Pb baddeleyite (ID TIMS) age determinations on dolerite sills obtained from borehole (Menzelinsk-Aktanysh-183) confirm the western extent of the Mashak event into the crystalline basement of the East European Craton (1382 ± 2 Ma) and into the overlying Lower Riphean sediments (1391 ± 2 Ma), and the imprecise ages reported elsewhere indicate the possible extension into the Timan region, with an overall areal extent of more than 500,000 km2 (LIP scale). It has tholeiitic compositions and is associated with breakup on the eastern margin of the craton - in addition, precise SHRIMP zircon ages of 1386 ± 5 Ma and 1386 ± 6 Ma (this paper) provide confirmation of previous approximate 1380-1383 Ma zircon age determination of the same formation, and suggest an age of ca. 1.4 Ga for the Lower/Middle Riphean boundary which was formerly considered to be 1350 ± 10 Ma. Contemporaneous magmatic rocks in the northeastern Greenland part of Laurentia (Zig-Zag Dal and Midsommerso formations) and Siberia (Chieress dykes and other dolerites) together with the Mashak event are suggested to be fragments of a single huge LIP and to correspond to breakup stage of the Columbia (Nuna) supercontinent. The Mashak LIP also has some significance, at least in Volgo-Uralia, for hydrocarbons and metallogeny.

Tremella mesenterica (TM), a yellow jelly mushroom, has been traditionally used as food and crude medicine to improve several kinds of symptoms in Chinese society for a long time. Recent studies have illustrated that the fractions of fruiting bodies of TM exhibit a significant hypoglycemic activity in diabetic mouse models, which usually suffer from sexual dysfunction. In a previous study, we showed that TM reduced plasma testosterone production in normal rats without any positive effect in diabetic rats. It evolved a question of TM directly regulating Leydig cell steroidogenesis. In this study, MA-10 mouse Leydig tumor cells were treated with vehicle, different dosages of TM with or without human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG 50 ng/ml) to clarify the effects. Results showed that TM at different dosages (0.01-10 mg/ml) did not have any effect on MA-10 cell steroidogenesis (p > 0.05). In the presence of hCG, there was an inhibitory trend that TA suppressed MA-10 cell progesterone production at 3 hr treatment with a statistically significant difference by the 10 mg/ml TM (p < 0.05). In time course effect, TM alone did not have any effect on MA-10 cell steroidogenesis from at 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 hr (p > 0.05). However, TM did reduce hCG-treated MA-10 cell progesterone production at 1, 2 and 3 hr (p < 0.05), respectively. To determine whether TM would have adverse effects on MA-10 cell steroidogenesis in the presence of hCG, MTT assay and recovery studies were conducted. MTT assay indicated that TM had no effect on surviving cells. In addition, with the removal of TM, and then the addition of hCG (2 and 4 hr), progesterone levels were restored within 4 hr. Taken together, present studies suggested that TM suppressed hCG-treated steroidogenesis in MA-10 cells without any toxicity effect.

The epidermis is a multilayered epithelium that requires asymmetric divisions for stratification. A conserved cortical protein complex, including LGN, nuclear mitotic apparatus (NuMA), and dynein/dynactin, plays a key role in establishing proper spindle orientation during asymmetric divisions. The requirements for the cortical recruitment of these proteins, however, remain unclear. In this work, we show that NuMA is required to recruit dynactin to the cell cortex of keratinocytes. NuMA's cortical recruitment requires LGN; however, LGN interactions are not sufficient for this localization. Using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, we find that the 4.1-binding domain of NuMA is important for stabilizing its interaction with the cell cortex. This is functionally important, as loss of 4.1/NuMA interaction results in spindle orientation defects, using two distinct assays. Furthermore, we observe an increase in cortical NuMA localization as cells enter anaphase. Inhibition of Cdk1 or mutation of a single residue in NuMA mimics this effect. NuMA's anaphase localization is independent of LGN and 4.1 interactions, revealing two distinct mechanisms responsible for NuMA cortical recruitment at different stages of mitosis. This work highlights the complexity of NuMA localization and reveals the importance of NuMA cortical stability for productive force generation during spindle orientation. PMID:24109598

The Chile Triple Junction is a natural laboratory to study the interactions between magmatism and tectonics during the subduction of an active spreading ridge beneath a continent. The MLBA plateau (Meseta del Lago Buenos Aires) is one of the Neogene alkali basaltic plateaus located in the back-arc region of the Andean Cordillera at the latitude of the current Chile Triple Junction. The genesis of MLBA can be related with successive opening of slabs windows beneath Patagonia: within the subducting Nazca Plate itself and between the Nazca and Antarctic plates. Detailed 40Ar/ 39Ar dating and geochemical analysis of bimodal magmatism from the western flank of the MLBA show major changes in the back-arc magmatism which occurred between 14.5 Ma and 12.5 Ma with the transition from calc-alkaline lavas (Cerro Plomo) to alkaline lavas (MLBA) in relation with slab window opening. In a second step, at 4-3 Ma, alkaline felsic intrusions were emplaced in the western flank of the MLBA coevally with the MLBA basalts with which they are genetically related. These late OIB-like alkaline to transitional basalts were generated by partial melting of the subslab asthenosphere of the subducting Nazca plate during the opening of the South Chile spreading ridge-related slab window. These basalts differentiated with small amounts of assimilation in shallow magma chambers emplaced along transtensional to extensional zones. The close association of bimodal magmatism with extensional tectonic features in the western MLBA is a strong support to the model of Patagonian collapse event proposed to have taken place between 5 and 3 Ma as a consequence of the presence of the asthenospheric window (SCR-1 segment of South Chile Ridge) below the MLBA area.

New and existing thermochronological data are used to model glacial erosion and topographic evolution of the central Patagonian Andes (~47S) over the last 6 Ma. The modern Andes are cut by large valleys and fjords with local valley relief of at least 2.5 km. It is currently thought that a formerly uniformly high Andes was 'buzzed' down to the elevation of the equilibrium line altitude, presumably in the last 2 Ma concurrent with late Cenozoic global cooling. However, studies of glacial debris show that glaciers were present in Patagonia as early as 6 Ma. The extent of these early glaciations is unclear, but recent work suggests that glacial valleys in the central Patagonian Andes were carved at a steady rate beginning at 6 Ma, implying that valley incision may be an important process in the topographic evolution of glaciated mountain ranges, rather than cirque retreat. To understand how valley relief has formed in the Andes, we dated 30 samples from Steffen Fjord in Chile using apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronology. We use this new data and existing thermochronological data in the region to estimate the topographic form of the central Andes at 6 Ma and model how the valley relief has evolved since the initiation of glaciation using Pecube.

Tremella mesenterica (TM), a yellow jelly mushroom, has been traditionally used as tonic food to improve body condition in Chinese society for a long time. We have previously demonstrated that TM reduced in vitro hCG-treated steroidogenesis in MA-10 mouse Leydig tumor cells without any toxicity effect. In the present study, the mechanism how TM suppressed hCG-treated steroidogenesis in MA-10 cells was investigated. MA-10 cells were treated with vehicle, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG, 50 ng/ml), or different reagents with or without TM to clarify the effects. TM significantly suppressed progesterone production with the presences of forskolin (10 and 100 microM) or dbcAMP (0.5 and 1mM), respectively, in MA-10 cells (p<0.05), which indicated that TM suppressed steroidogenesis after PKA activation along the signal pathway. Beyond our expectation, TM induced the expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein with or without hCG treatments. However, TM profoundly decreased P450 side chain cleavage (P450scc) and 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD) enzyme activities without any influences on the expression of both enzymes. These inhibitions on steroidogenic enzyme activities might counteract the stimulation of StAR protein expression. In conclusion, results suggest that TM suppressed hCG-treated steroidogenesis in MA-10 cells by inhibiting PKA signal pathway and steroidogenic enzyme activities.

MaRIE x-ray free electron laser (FEL) is envisioned to deliver a burst of closely spaced in time pulses for enabling the capability of studying the dynamic processes in a sample. MaRIE capability can be largely enhanced using the superconducting undulator, which has the capability of doubling its period. This technology will allow reaching the photon energy as low as ~200-500 eV. As a result, the MaRIE facility will have a broader photon energy range enabling a larger variety of experiments. The soft x-ray capability is more likely to achieve the 3D imaging of dynamic processes in noncrystal materials than the hard x-ray capability alone.

We analyze the behavior of an electromagnetic wave which propagates in a left-handed material. Second-order dispersion and cubic-quintic nonlinearities are considered. This behavior of an electromagnetic wave is modeled by a nonlinear Schrödinger equation which is solved by collective coordinates theory in order to characterize the light pulse intensity profile. More so, a specific frequency range has been outlined where electromagnetic wave behavior will be investigated. The perfect combination of second-order dispersion and cubic nonlinearity leads to a robust soliton. When the quintic nonlinearity comes into play, it provokes strong and long internal perturbations which lead to Benjamin-Feir instability. This phenomenon, also called modulational instability, induces appearance of a Kuznetsov-Ma waves train. We numerically verify the validity of Kuznetsov-Ma theory by presenting physical conditions which lead to Kuznetsov-Ma waves train generation. Thereafter, some properties of such waves train are also verified.

Although the quest for Earth's oldest rock is of great importance, identifying the youngest exposed pluton on Earth is also of interest. A pluton is a body of intrusive igneous rock that crystallized from slowly cooling magma at depths of several kilometers beneath the surface of the Earth. Therefore, the youngest exposed pluton represents the most recent tectonic uplift and highest exhumation. The youngest exposed pluton reported to date is the Takidani Granodiorite (~ 1.4 Ma) in the Hida Mountain Range of central Japan. Using LA-ICP-MS and SHRIMP U-Pb zircon dating methods, this study demonstrates that the Kurobegawa Granite, also situated in the Hida Mountain Range, is as young as ~ 0.8 Ma. In addition, data indicate multiple intrusion episodes in this pluton since 10 Ma with a ~ 2-million-year period of quiescence; hence, a future intrusion event is likely within 1 million years.

Alpine glaciation and river incision control the topography of mountain ranges, but their relative contributions have been debated for years. Apatite 4He/3He thermochronometry tightly constrains the timing and rate of glacial erosion within one of the largest valleys in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Five proximate samples require accelerated denudation of the Klinaklini Valley initiating 1.8 +/- 0.2 million years ago (Ma). At least 2 kilometers of overlying rock were removed from the valley at >/=5 millimeters per year, indicating that glacial valley deepening proceeded >/=6 times as fast as erosion rates before approximately 1.8 Ma. This intense erosion may be related to a global transition to enhanced climate instability approximately 1.9 Ma.

Lactobacillus plantarum MA2 was isolated from Chinese traditional Tibetan kefir grains. The antioxidant activities in vitro of this strain were evaluated extensively. The results showed that L. plantarum MA2 can tolerate hydrogen peroxide up to 2.0mM, and its fermentate (fermented supernatant, intact cell and cell-free extract) had strong reducing capacities, lipid peroxidation inhibition capacities, Fe(2+)-chelating abilities, as well as various free radical scavenging capacities. Additionally, both the fermented supernatant and cell homogenate exhibited glutathione peroxidase activity and superoxide dismutase activity. In order to investigate the antioxidant mechanism of L. plantarum MA2 at the molecular level, eight antioxidant-related genes were identified, and further analyzed. Three groups of genes cat, gshR and npx, were found up-regulated under H2O2 challenge.

In this paper, we apply the modified variational iteration method (MVIM) for solving partial differential equations using Ma's transformation. The proposed modification is made by introducing He's polynomials in the correction functional of the variational iteration method (VIM). Moreover, we use a very efficient and reliable transformation which is mainly due to Ma and converts the given partial differential equations (PDES) into the corresponding ordinary differential equations (ODES). The proposed MVIM is applied on the re-formulated ODES, which in turn gives the solution in terms of the transformed variables and the application of the inverse transformation yields the required series solution. Several examples are given to re-confirm the efficiency and accuracy of the suggested algorithm. It is observed that Ma's transformation makes the solution procedure very convenient and simple.

With the ascending attack rate of anovulatory infertility year by year, people also began to pay attention to its treat methods. According to Doctor Ma Kun,who are engaged in clinical work about the treatment for anovulatory infertility, kidney deficiency is the basic pathogenesis and blood stasis is an important factor that has been through. Flexible use of tonifying the kidney and promoting blood circulation treatment of anovulatory infertility in clinic, has achieved remarkable curative effect. Director Ma adjusts menstruation by the different periods, and regulates both patients' negative emotions and sleep quality. Through years of clinical experience accumulation, Director Ma gradually formes special treatment of anovulatory infertility by flexibly using of tonifying the kidney and promoting blood circulation individually.

Ethylene plays an essential role in many biological processes including fruit ripening via modulation of ethylene signaling pathway. Ethylene Response Factors (ERFs) are key transcription factors (TFs) involved in ethylene perception and are divided into AP2, RAV, ERF, and DREB sub-families. Although a number of studies have implicated the involvement of DREB sub-family genes in stress responses, little is known about their roles in fruit ripening. In this study, we identified a DREB TF with a EAR motif, designated as MaDEAR1, which is a nucleus-localized transcriptional repressor. Expression analysis indicated that MaDEAR1 expression was repressed by ethylene, with reduced levels of histone H3 and H4 acetylation at its regulatory regions during fruit ripening. In addition, MaDEAR1 promoter activity was also suppressed in response to ethylene treatment. More importantly, MaDEAR1 directly binds to the DRE/CRT motifs in promoters of several cell wall-modifying genes including MaEXP1/3, MaPG1, MaXTH10, MaPL3, and MaPME3 associated with fruit softening during ripening and represses their activities. These data suggest that MaDEAR1 acts as a transcriptional repressor of cell wall-modifying genes, and may be negatively involved in ethylene-mediated ripening of banana fruit. Our findings provide new insights into the involvement of DREB TFs in the regulation of fruit ripening. PMID:27462342

Ethylene plays an essential role in many biological processes including fruit ripening via modulation of ethylene signaling pathway. Ethylene Response Factors (ERFs) are key transcription factors (TFs) involved in ethylene perception and are divided into AP2, RAV, ERF, and DREB sub-families. Although a number of studies have implicated the involvement of DREB sub-family genes in stress responses, little is known about their roles in fruit ripening. In this study, we identified a DREB TF with a EAR motif, designated as MaDEAR1, which is a nucleus-localized transcriptional repressor. Expression analysis indicated that MaDEAR1 expression was repressed by ethylene, with reduced levels of histone H3 and H4 acetylation at its regulatory regions during fruit ripening. In addition, MaDEAR1 promoter activity was also suppressed in response to ethylene treatment. More importantly, MaDEAR1 directly binds to the DRE/CRT motifs in promoters of several cell wall-modifying genes including MaEXP1/3, MaPG1, MaXTH10, MaPL3, and MaPME3 associated with fruit softening during ripening and represses their activities. These data suggest that MaDEAR1 acts as a transcriptional repressor of cell wall-modifying genes, and may be negatively involved in ethylene-mediated ripening of banana fruit. Our findings provide new insights into the involvement of DREB TFs in the regulation of fruit ripening.

Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) is an optical fiber-bundle integral-field unit (IFU) spectroscopic survey that is one of three core programs in the fourth-generation Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV). With a spectral coverage of 3622-10354 Å and an average footprint of ˜500 arcsec2 per IFU the scientific data products derived from MaNGA will permit exploration of the internal structure of a statistically large sample of 10,000 low-redshift galaxies in unprecedented detail. Comprising 174 individually pluggable science and calibration IFUs with a near-constant data stream, MaNGA is expected to obtain ˜100 million raw-frame spectra and ˜10 million reduced galaxy spectra over the six-year lifetime of the survey. In this contribution, we describe the MaNGA Data Reduction Pipeline algorithms and centralized metadata framework that produce sky-subtracted spectrophotometrically calibrated spectra and rectified three-dimensional data cubes that combine individual dithered observations. For the 1390 galaxy data cubes released in Summer 2016 as part of SDSS-IV Data Release 13, we demonstrate that the MaNGA data have nearly Poisson-limited sky subtraction shortward of ˜8500 Å and reach a typical 10σ limiting continuum surface brightness μ = 23.5 AB arcsec-2 in a five-arcsecond-diameter aperture in the g-band. The wavelength calibration of the MaNGA data is accurate to 5 km s-1 rms, with a median spatial resolution of 2.54 arcsec FWHM (1.8 kpc at the median redshift of 0.037) and a median spectral resolution of σ = 72 km s-1.

Late Pliocene climate changes have long been implicated in environmental changes and mammalian evolution in Africa, but high-resolution examinations of the fossil and climatic records have been hampered by poor sampling. By using fossils from the well-dated Shungura Formation (lower Omo Valley, northern Turkana Basin, southern Ethiopia), we investigate palaeodietary changes in one bovid and in one suid lineage from 3 to 2 Ma using stable isotope analysis of tooth enamel. Results show unexpectedly large increases in C(4) dietary intake around 2.8 Ma in both the bovid and suid, and possibly in a previously reported hippopotamid species. Enamel δ(13)C values after 2.8 Ma in the bovid (Tragelaphus nakuae) are higher than recorded for any living tragelaphin, and are not expected given its conservative dental morphology. A shift towards increased C(4) feeding at 2.8 Ma in the suid (Kolpochoerus limnetes) appears similarly decoupled from a well-documented record of dental evolution indicating gradual and progressive dietary change. The fact that two, perhaps three, disparate Pliocene herbivore lineages exhibit similar, and contemporaneous changes in dietary behaviour suggests a common environmental driver. Local and regional pollen, palaeosol and faunal records indicate increased aridity but no corresponding large and rapid expansion of grasslands in the Turkana Basin at 2.8 Ma. Our results provide new evidence supporting ecological change in the eastern African record around 2.8 Ma, but raise questions about the resolution at which different ecological proxies may be comparable, the correlation of vegetation and faunal change, and the interpretation of low δ(13)C values in the African Pliocene.

The impact of bensoporphyrin derivative monoacid ring A, and visible light was determined for mouse splenic dendritic cells (DC), potent antigen-presenting cells (APC) of the immune system. It was discovered that sub-lethal doses of BPD-MA and light significantly altered the surface receptor pattern of DC as well as diminishing the capacity of these cells to activate allogeneic T cells. Treatment of highly purified DC with BPD-MA and 690 nm wavelength light decreased DC expression of major histocompatibility (MHC) Class I and II antigens, leukocyte common antigen CD45, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1, CD54), the co- stimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86, CD95 as well as integrin CD11c. In contrast, DC expression of leukocyte function-associated-1 (LFA-1, CD11a), CD11b, CD18, CD40, and the DC DEC-205 receptor increased after the treatment. Changes in receptor levels occurred rapidly. DC MHC Class I and ICAM-1 expression declined to 40 percent of control levels by 2 hours post-PDT. DC treated with BPD-MA and light were poor stimulators of allogeneic T cells in the mixed leukocyte reaction. BPD-MA, in the absence of light, had no effect on the immunostimulatory properties of these cells. The changes in DC receptor expression pattern produced by BPD-MA and light were comparable to those produced by ultraviolet B light, a treatment known to alter the immunostimulatory characteristics of DC. Photodynamic therapy with BPD-MA represents an innovative approach for the modification of immune reactivity.

Lee Je-ma 1837-1900) was a prominent scholar as well as an Korean physician. classified every people into four distinctive types: greater yang [tai yang] person, lesser yin [shao yin] person, greater yin [tai yin] person, lesser yin [shao yin] person. This theory would dictate proper treatment for each type in accordance with individual differences of physical and temperament features. Using these four types he created The Medical Science of Four Types. This article is intended to look into the connection between Lee Je-Ma's 'The Medical Science of Four Types' and 'The Modern' with organizing his ideas about the human body and the human being. Through The Modern, the theory of human being underwent a complete change. Human being in The Premodern, which was determined by sex, age and social status has been changed to the individual human being, which is featured by equality. Lee Je-Ma's medical theory of The Medical Science of Four Types would be analyzed as follow. His concept of human body is oriented toward observable objectivity. But on the other hand, it still remains transcendent status of medical science, which is subordinated by philosophy. According to Lee Je-Ma's theory of human being, human is an equal individual in a modern way of thinking, not as a part of hierarchical group. But on the other hand, it still remains incomplete from getting rid of morality aspect that includes virtue and vice in the concept of human body. The common factors in Lee Je-Ma's ideas about the human body and the human being is 'Dualism of mind and body that means all kinds of status and results depends on each individual. As is stated above, Lee Je-Ma's medical theory has many aspects of The Modern and it proves that Korean traditional medicine could be modernized by itself.

Using new data set of seamount ages on the African plate, a model of motion of the African plate relative to the African hotspots are calculated by the Polygonal Finite Rotation Method; PFRM (Harada and Hamano, 2000). The new motion of the African plate has more abrupt change at about 50Ma than the previous models of the African plate mainly due to the PFRM which can allow the finite pole of the plate rotation to move continuously. The new model of the motion fits positions and ages of the almost all seamounts which are created by the African hotspots, whereas the previous models do not fit with positions of northwestern hotspots of the African plate such as Canary, Cape Verde, Meteor and Bathymetric hotspot. The new model suggests that the African plate rotated counter clockwise abruptly at about 50Ma. To compare the 50Ma abrupt change with coeval event at the Pacific plate motion, we utilized the paleomagnetic data from both plates. From the apparent geomagnetic polar wander path of the African plate and African plate motion relative to the African hotspots, we calculated geomagnetic polar motion relative to the African hotspots. Similarly, we calculated geomagnetic polar motion relative to the Pacific hotspots from the Pacific sets of paleomagnetic data and plate motion. The geomagnetic polar motion or true polar wander should be only one, therefore we can calculate relative motion of the African hotspots and the Pacific hotspots. The result shows that there was no significant motion between two groups of hotspots since about 70Ma. The new true polar wander path since 70Ma, thus, presented by averaging the two models of motions, and this has about 90 degree clockwise change of directions at about 50Ma. This study strongly suggests below. 1, There was coeval event of the African plate motion with Hawaii-Emperor bend event at the Pacific plate. 2, There was no significant relative motion between global hotspots for the time scale of 70Myr even though there was

DNA N6-methyldeoxyadenosine (6mA) is a well-known prokaryotic DNA modification that has been shown to exist and play epigenetic roles in eukaryotic DNA. Here we report that 6mA accumulates up to ∼0.1–0.2% of total deoxyadenosine during early embryogenesis of vertebrates, but diminishes to the background level with the progression of the embryo development. During this process a large fraction of 6mAs locate in repetitive regions of the genome. PMID:27713410

Tectonic reconstructions of the Pacific-North America (PAC-NAM) plate boundary across the Gulf of California and Salton Trough (GCAST) constrain the controversial magnitude of Baja California microplate-North America (BCM-NAM) relative motion since middle Miocene time. We use estimates of total PAC-NAM relative dextral-oblique motion from the updated global plate-circuit model (Atwater and Stock, 2013; GSA Cordilleran Mtg) to resolve the proportion of this motion on faults east of the BCM. Modern GPS studies and offset of late Miocene cross-gulf geologic tie points both suggest that BCM has never been completely coupled to the Pacific plate. Thus, our preferred GCAST reconstruction uses 93% BCM-PAC coupling from the present back to 6 Ma. We assume BCM-PAC coupling of 60% between 6 and 7 Ma, and 25% between 7 and 11 Ma, to avoid unacceptable overlap of continental crustal blocks between Baja California and the Sierra Madre Occidental (on stable NAM). Using these coupling ratios and PAC-NAM stage Euler poles, we determine the azimuth and velocity of individual points on the BCM in 1 million year increments back to 11 Ma. This procedure accounts for minor clockwise rotation of BCM that occurred during oblique rifting, and shows how total BCM-NAM relative motion increases from north to south due to greater distance from the Euler pole. Finer-scale restoration of tectonic blocks along significant (>1 km offset) faults, across extensional (e.g. pull-apart and half-graben) basins, and by vertical-axis rotation is constrained by local geologic and marine-geophysical datasets and accomplished via the open-source Tectonic Reconstruct ArcGIS tool. We find that restoration across the Gulf of California completely closes marine basins and their terrestrial predecessors between 6 and 9 Ma. Latest Miocene opening of these basins was coincident with a ~10° clockwise azimuthal change from 8 to 6 Ma in PAC-NAM relative motion, as revealed by the global plate circuit model. The

The northern Burro Mountains in southwestern New Mexico reveal three distinct, intimately juxtaposed Mesoproterozoic magmatic suites in southern Laurentia. At 1633 Ma, the newly formed Mazatzal crust was intruded by tholeiitic diabase with a depleted-mantle type Nd isotope composition but with enriched incompatible trace element abundances. A potassic granite-minette suite was emplaced ca. 1460 Ma, and a tholeiitic A-type granite-anorthosite suite intruded ca. 1225 1220 Ma. The diabase-minette-anorthosite sequence and the associated silicic rocks record dominantly juvenile additions to the cratonic margin and imply subcontinental enrichment events ca. 1650 Ma (accretion), prior to 1460 Ma (potassic metasomatism), and ca. 1220 Ma (magmatic underplating). The latter two may have been controlled by a major transcurrent structure along the south margin of Laurentia.

We report the detection of gamma-ray emission from ASASSN-16ma, spectroscopically classified as a classical nova (ATel #9669 and ATel #9678). Because of the close proximity to TCP J18102829-2729590 (separated from ASAS-SN 16ma by 2.5 degrees), ASASSN-16ma is under our Fermi ToO monitoring triggered for TCP J18102829-2729590 since 2016-10-25 (ATel #9699).

... that count toward allowable costs. Target amount means, with respect to an MA regional plan offered by...) Adjustment of payment—(1) No adjustment if allowable costs within 3 percent of target amount. If the... target amount for the plan and year, there will be no payment adjustment under this section for the...

This paper investigates: (1) whether high school students overestimate gun carrying by their peers, and (2) whether those students who overestimate peer gun carrying are more likely to carry firearms. Data come from a randomly sampled survey conducted in 2008 of over 1700 high school students in Boston, MA. Over 5% of students reported carrying a…

A significant amount of effort has been devoted to determining the properties and understanding the behavior of the alloy MA957 to define its potential usefulness as a cladding material in the fast breeder reactor program. The numerous characterization and fabrication studies that were conducted are documented in this report.

The paper describes an atypical case of simultaneous airborne and direct contact dermatitis in a beekeeper from the Małopolska region. This is the third such case described in a beekeeper in the world and the first in Poland. I suggest that propolis should be regarded as both a direct and airborne contact allergen in beekeepers.

Human mutations in KATNB1 (p80) cause severe congenital cortical malformations, which encompass the clinical features of both microcephaly and lissencephaly. Although p80 plays critical roles during brain development, the underlying mechanisms remain predominately unknown. Here, we demonstrate that p80 regulates microtubule (MT) remodeling in combination with NuMA (nuclear mitotic apparatus protein) and cytoplasmic dynein. We show that p80 shuttles between the nucleus and spindle pole in synchrony with the cell cycle. Interestingly, this striking feature is shared with NuMA. Importantly, p80 is essential for aster formation and maintenance in vitro. siRNA-mediated depletion of p80 and/or NuMA induced abnormal mitotic phenotypes in cultured mouse embryonic fibroblasts and aberrant neurogenesis and neuronal migration in the mouse embryonic brain. Importantly, these results were confirmed in p80-mutant harboring patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells and brain organoids. Taken together, our findings provide valuable insights into the pathogenesis of severe microlissencephaly, in which p80 and NuMA delineate a common pathway for neurogenesis and neuronal migration via MT organization at the centrosome/spindle pole. PMID:28079116

MA-9 ASTRONAUT L. GORDON COOPER LEAVES TRANSFER VAN AT LAUNCH COMPLEX 14 S-63-6247 P-07136, ARCHIVE-03808 Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., leaves the transfer van at Pad #14 for his ride up the gantry elevator to the 11th deck where he will be inserted into the spacecraft for his 22-orbit mission.

Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper explains the 16MM handheld spacecraft camera to his back-up pilot Astronaut Alan Shepard. The camera designed by J. R. Hereford, McDonnell Aircraft Corp., will be used by Cooper during the MA-9 mission.

... National Park Service Cape Cod National Seashore; South Wellfleet, MA; Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory..., 86 Stat. 770, 5 U.S.C. App 1, Section 10) of a meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission. DATES: The meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission will be held on May...

... National Park Service Cape Cod National Seashore, South Wellfleet, MA; Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory... Stat. 770, 5 U.S.C. App 1, Section 10) of a meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission. DATES: The meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission will be held on March...

... National Park Service Cape Cod National Seashore; South Wellfleet, MA; Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory.... 770, 5 U.S.C. App 1, Section 10) of a meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission. DATES: The meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission will be held on September...

... National Park Service Cape Cod National Seashore, South Wellfleet, MA; Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory... Stat. 770, 5 U.S.C. App 1, Section 10) of a meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission. DATES: The meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission will be held on...

... National Park Service Cape Cod National Seashore; South Wellfleet, MA; Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory... Stat. 770, 5 U.S.C. App 1, Section 10) of a meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission. DATES: The meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission will be held on July...

... Cape Cod National Seashore, South Wellfleet, MA; Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission AGENCY.... App 1, Section 10) of a meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission. DATES: The meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission will be held on March 22, 2010 at 1...

... National Park Service Cape Cod National Seashore, South Wellfleet, MA; Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory... Stat. 770, 5 U.S.C. App 1, Section 10) of a meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission. DATES: The meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission will be held on...

... Cape Cod National Seashore; South Wellfleet, MA; Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission AGENCY.... App 1, Section 10) of a meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission. DATES: The meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission will be held on September 13, 2010, at 1...

... National Park Service Cape Cod National Seashore, South Wellfleet, MA; Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory... Stat. 770, 5 U.S.C. App 1, Section 10) of a meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission. DATES: The meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission will be held on...

To meet new and emerging national security issues the Laboratory is stepping up to meet another grand challenge—transitioning from observing to controlling a material’s performance. This challenge requires the best of experiment, modeling, simulation, and computational tools. MaRIE is the Laboratory’s proposed flagship experimental facility intended to meet the challenge.

The MA Entrance Examinations (MAEE) held in Iran since 1990 are frequently criticized as being invalid, unstandardized exams with lots of problem in terms of principles of testing in general and test construction in particular (for instance, Jafarpur, 1996). To make sound judgments about such objections, the present study dealt with a content…

... EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Iv-General § 308.549 Application for appointment of Cargo Underwriting Agent, Form MA-319. Any domestic insurance company authorized to do a marine insurance business in any State of the United States may apply for appointment as a Cargo Underwriting...

... EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Iv-General § 308.549 Application for appointment of Cargo Underwriting Agent, Form MA-319. Any domestic insurance company authorized to do a marine insurance business in any State of the United States may apply for appointment as a Cargo Underwriting...

The product of the adjusting physician's mass and acceleration does not quantify the adjustive force as popularly believed, an error stemming from a misunderstanding of Newton's second law. In this paper, a gedanken experiment illustrates the misapplication of F = ma and suggests that the adjustive force depends on the impact velocity, mass of the doctor, and intrinsic physical properties of the doctor and patient.

... residents spend in non-hospital provider settings such as freestanding clinics, nursing homes, and... medical education payments if all of the following conditions are met: (1) The resident spends his or her... the total number of individuals enrolled in the MA organization. (e) Direct graduate medical...

Retroviruses specifically package full-length, dimeric genomic RNA (gRNA) even in the presence of a vast excess of cellular RNA. The “psi” (Ψ) element within the 5′-untranslated region (5′UTR) of gRNA is critical for packaging through interaction with the nucleocapsid (NC) domain of Gag. However, in vitro Gag binding affinity for Ψ versus non-Ψ RNAs is not significantly different. Previous salt-titration binding assays revealed that human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag bound to Ψ RNA with high specificity and relatively few charge interactions, whereas binding to non-Ψ RNA was less specific and involved more electrostatic interactions. The NC domain was critical for specific Ψ binding, but surprisingly, a Gag mutant lacking the matrix (MA) domain was less effective at discriminating Ψ from non-Ψ RNA. We now find that Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) Gag also effectively discriminates RSV Ψ from non-Ψ RNA in a MA-dependent manner. Interestingly, Gag chimeras, wherein the HIV-1 and RSV MA domains were swapped, maintained high binding specificity to cognate Ψ RNAs. Using Ψ RNA mutant constructs, determinants responsible for promoting high Gag binding specificity were identified in both systems. Taken together, these studies reveal the functional equivalence of HIV-1 and RSV MA domains in facilitating Ψ RNA selectivity by Gag, as well as Ψ elements that promote this selectivity. PMID:27657107

Precise U-Pb baddeleyite dating of mafic igneous rocks provides evidence for a widespread and synchronous magmatic event that extended for >2400 km along the western margin of the Neoproterozoic Laurentian craton. U-Pb baddeleyite analyses for eight intrusions from seven localities ranging from the northern Canadian Shield to northwestern Wyoming-southwestern Montana are statistically indistinguishable and yield a composite U-Pb concordia age for this event of 780.3 ?? 1.4 Ma (95% confidence level). This 780 Ma event is herein termed the Gunbarrel magmatic event. The mafic magmatism of the Gunbarrel event represents the largest mafic dike swarm yet identified along the Neoproterozoic margin of Laurentia. The origin of the mafic magmatism is not clear, but may be related to mantle-plume activity or upwelling asthenosphere leading to crustal extension accompanying initial breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia and development of the proto-Pacific Ocean. The mafic magmatism of the Gunbarrel magmatic event at 780 Ma predates the voluminous magmatism of the 723 Ma Franklin igneous event of the northwestern Canadian Shield by ???60 m.y. The precise dating of the extensive Neoproterozoic Gunbarrel and Franklin magmatic events provides unique time markers that can ultimately be used for robust testing of Neoproterozoic continental reconstructions.

A total of 136 rotavirus positive samples from diarrhoeic animals of different species were submitted for isolation and cultural propagation of rotavirus on MA-104 cells. The samples were collected from animals with diarrhoea, between 1980 and 2010, originating from herds or farms located in several parts of Germany. Rotaviruses of species A were isolated from 102 faecal samples in cultures of MA-104 cells under the following conditions: pre-treatment of virus with trypsin, incorporation of trypsin into culture medium, use of roller cultures, and centrifugation of the samples on the cells. The cell culture adapted viruses produced a cytopathic effect, accompanied by the release of cells from the glass surface of the cultivation vessels. After 10 passages the virus isolates yielded titres between 10(5.5) and 10(7.5)ml(-1) TCID50. Isolation and serial propagation of the virus in MA-104 cells was confirmed by immunofluorescence assay, transmission electron microscopy, and polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of viral dsRNA. Eight (5.9%) of the electrophoretic profiles were characteristic of species B or D rotaviruses, which were not replicated in MA-104 cells.

The Gnowangerup-Fraser mafic dyke swarm is part of the Marnda Moorn LIP and subparallel to the southern and southeastern margins of the Yilgarn Craton. Some dykes become progressively recrystallized towards the craton margin and others are strongly deformed within the orogen, implying that at least some dykes were emplaced prior to the youngest deformation in the Albany-Fraser Orogen. Five dykes have previously yielded U-Pb ages between 1203 and 1218 Ma, and the primary nature of the magnetic directions in a 1212 Ma Fraser dyke is supported by a positive baked-contact test. We collected paleomagnetism samples from 19 dykes, along the Phillips and Fitzgerald Rivers, and near Ravensthorpe. AF demagnetisation revealed a stable bipolar remanence in 13 dykes. The mean paleomagnetic pole is almost identical to the VGP of the 1212 Ma Fraser dyke. The combined robust paleopole places the West Australian Craton in a near-polar position at 1210 Ma. Comparison with coeval Laurentian paleopoles indicates that Laurentia and Australia were widely separated at that time.

A new compact Z-pinch x-ray hohlraum design with parallel-driven x-ray sources was experimentally demonstrated in a full configuration with a central target and tailored shine shields (to provide a symmetric temperature distribution on the target) at the 1.7 MA Zebra generator. This presentation reports on the joint success of two independent lines of research. One of these was the development of new sources – planar wire arrays (PWAs). PWAs turned out to be a prolific radiator. Another success was the drastic improvement in energy efficiency of pulsed-power systems, such as the Load Current Multiplier (LCM). The Zebra/LCM generator almost doubled the plasma load current to 1.7 MA. The two above-mentioned innovative approaches were used in combination to produce a new compact hohlraum design for ICF, as jointly proposed by SNL and UNR. Good agreement between simulated and measured radiation temperature of the central target is shown. Experimental comparison of PWAs with planar foil liners (PFL) - another viable alternative to wire array loads at multi-MA generators show promising data. Results of research at the University of Nevada Reno allowed for the study of hohlraum coupling physics at University-scale generators. The advantages of new hohlraum design applications for multi-MA facilities with W or Au double PWAs or PFL x-ray sources are discussed.

A forced-choice reaction-time (RT) task was used to examine voluntary visual orienting among children and adolescents with trisomy 21 Down syndrome and typically developing children matched at an MA of approximately 5.6 years, an age when the development of orienting abilities reaches optimal adult-like efficiency. Both groups displayed faster…

The study presents a new pedagogical idea and practice for educational practitioners. The practice was developed as a workshop of MA program in order to change and expand the meaning of education for the wellbeing of the community. The "place-based learning" workshop combined action learning (AL) with project-based learning (PBL). The…

The so-called stratoid granites are sheet-like granites emplaced as conformable sills in the Precambrian basement of central Madagascar. Most of them have A-type affinities (Nédélec et al. 1995). They are everywhere characterized by the same structural pattern evidencing two stages of deformation. The first one (foliations mildly dipping to the west and lineations trending WSW) is regarded as the consequence of synkinematic magma emplacement. The second stage, characterized by interference folds, steeply dipping foliations and subhorizontal lineations trending to the north, corresponds to a more or less pronounced reworking in ductile conditions, regarded as the result of Late Pan-African transcurrent tectonics. To the north of Antananarivo, the stratoid granites are associated with comagmatic quartz-syenites. New U-Pb zircons ages obtained by in situ analyses reveal two group of ages: upper intercept ages of ca 790 Ma, and younger ages of ca 550 Ma corresponding to crystal rims. These new data question the geological significance of former TIMS ages of ca 630 Ma formerly obtained from the same rocks (Paquette & Nédélec 1998). It is suggested that the stratoid granites and syenites were emplaced during a crustal thinning event corresponding to an early Rodinia rifting stage. The Pan-African imprint on these rocks is therefore limited to reheating, tectonic reworking and deep fluid transfer in the vicinity of Late-Neoproterozoic shear zones at ca 550 Ma (Nédélec et al. 2014).

A new compact Z-pinch x-ray hohlraum design with parallel-driven x-ray sources was experimentally demonstrated in a full configuration with a central target and tailored shine shields (to provide a symmetric temperature distribution on the target) at the 1.7 MA Zebra generator. This presentation reports on the joint success of two independent lines of research. One of these was the development of new sources - planar wire arrays (PWAs). PWAs turned out to be a prolific radiator. Another success was the drastic improvement in energy efficiency of pulsed-power systems, such as the Load Current Multiplier (LCM). The Zebra/LCM generator almost doubled the plasma load current to 1.7 MA. The two above-mentioned innovative approaches were used in combination to produce a new compact hohlraum design for ICF, as jointly proposed by SNL and UNR. Good agreement between simulated and measured radiation temperature of the central target is shown. Experimental comparison of PWAs with planar foil liners (PFL) - another viable alternative to wire array loads at multi-MA generators show promising data. Results of research at the University of Nevada Reno allowed for the study of hohlraum coupling physics at University-scale generators. The advantages of new hohlraum design applications for multi-MA facilities with W or Au double PWAs or PFL x-ray sources are discussed.

MaNGA (Mapping of Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory) is a 6-year Sloan Digital Sky Survey fourth generation (SDSS-IV) project that will obtain integral field spectroscopy of a catalogue of 10,000 nearby galaxies. In this study, we explore the properties of the passive dwarf galaxy sample presented in Penny et al. 2016, making use of MaNGA IFU (Integral Field Unit) data to plot gas emission, stellar velocity, and flux maps. In addition, HI-MaNGA, a legacy radio-survey of MaNGA, collects single dish HI data retrieved from the GBT (Green Bank Telescope), which we use to study the the 21cm emission lines present in HI detections. Studying the HI content of passive dwarves will help us reveal the processes that are preventing star formation, such as possible AGN feedback. This work was supported by the SDSS Research Experience for Undergraduates program, which is funded by a grant from the Sloan Foundation to the Astrophysical Research Consortium.

To optimize Agrobacterium-mediated transient transformation assay in mulberry (Morus alba L.), various infiltration methods, Agrobacterium tumefaciens (A. tumefaciens) strains, and bacterial concentrations were tested in mulberry seedlings. Compared with LBA4404, GV3101 harboring pBE2133 plasmids presented stronger GUS signals at 3 days post infiltration using syringe. Recombinant plasmids pBE2133:GFP and pBE2133:GFP:MaFT were successfully constructed. Transient expression of MaFT:GFP protein was found in leaves, petiole (cross section), and shoot apical meristem (SAM) of mulberry according to the GFP signal. Moreover, MaFT:GFP mRNA was also detected in leaves and SAM via RT-PCR and qRT-PCR. An efficient transient transformation system could be achieved in mulberry seedlings by syringe using A. tumefaciens GV3101 at the OD600 of 0.5. The movement of MaFT expression from leaves to SAM might trigger the precocious flowering of mulberry.

We present a patient with opsoclonus and diffuse cerebellar signs who had an anti-Ma2 antibody-associated paraneoplastic syndrome secondary to a sarcomatoid mesothelioma. This case highlights the importance of early tumour detection, instigation of therapeutic measures, and the heterogeneity of underlying malignancies in neurological paraneoplastic syndromes.

Human mutations in KATNB1 (p80) cause severe congenital cortical malformations, which encompass the clinical features of both microcephaly and lissencephaly. Although p80 plays critical roles during brain development, the underlying mechanisms remain predominately unknown. Here, we demonstrate that p80 regulates microtubule (MT) remodeling in combination with NuMA (nuclear mitotic apparatus protein) and cytoplasmic dynein. We show that p80 shuttles between the nucleus and spindle pole in synchrony with the cell cycle. Interestingly, this striking feature is shared with NuMA. Importantly, p80 is essential for aster formation and maintenance in vitro. siRNA-mediated depletion of p80 and/or NuMA induced abnormal mitotic phenotypes in cultured mouse embryonic fibroblasts and aberrant neurogenesis and neuronal migration in the mouse embryonic brain. Importantly, these results were confirmed in p80-mutant harboring patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells and brain organoids. Taken together, our findings provide valuable insights into the pathogenesis of severe microlissencephaly, in which p80 and NuMA delineate a common pathway for neurogenesis and neuronal migration via MT organization at the centrosome/spindle pole.

... that residents spend in non-hospital provider settings such as freestanding clinics, nursing homes, and... time assigned to patient care activities. (2) The MA organization incurs “all or substantially all” of... (2) Medicare's share, which is equal to the ratio of the number of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled...

... that residents spend in non-hospital provider settings such as freestanding clinics, nursing homes, and... time assigned to patient care activities. (2) The MA organization incurs “all or substantially all” of... (2) Medicare's share, which is equal to the ratio of the number of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled...

... residents spend in non-hospital provider settings such as freestanding clinics, nursing homes, and... time assigned to patient care activities. (2) The MA organization incurs “all or substantially all” of... (2) Medicare's share, which is equal to the ratio of the number of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled...

We introduce redMaGiC, an automated algorithm for selecting luminous red galaxies (LRGs). The algorithm was specifically developed to minimize photometric redshift uncertainties in photometric large-scale structure studies. redMaGiC achieves this by self-training the colour cuts necessary to produce a luminosity-thresholded LRG sample of constant comoving density. We demonstrate that redMaGiC photo-zs are very nearly as accurate as the best machine learning-based methods, yet they require minimal spectroscopic training, do not suffer from extrapolation biases, and are very nearly Gaussian. We apply our algorithm to Dark Energy Survey (DES) Science Verification (SV) data to produce a redMaGiC catalogue sampling the redshift range z ∈ [0.2, 0.8]. Our fiducial sample has a comoving space density of 10-3 (h-1 Mpc)-3, and a median photo-z bias (zspec - zphoto) and scatter (σz/(1 + z)) of 0.005 and 0.017, respectively. The corresponding 5σ outlier fraction is 1.4 per cent. We also test our algorithm with Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 8 and Stripe 82 data, and discuss how spectroscopic training can be used to control photo-z biases at the 0.1 per cent level.

Precise zircon and monazite ID-TIMS U-Pb dating of three Lower Ordovician altered ash-fall tuff beds (K-bentonites) in the Cantabrian Zone of NW Iberia yielded coeval ages together with an equivalent previously studied sample (477.5 ± 1 (Gutierrez-Alonso et al., 2007)), of 477 ± 1.3 Ma, 477.2 ± 1.1 Ma and 477.3 ± 1 Ma, with a pooled concordia age (all analyses in the four samples) of 477.2 ± 0.74 Ma. A conservative estimation of the volume and mass of the studied K-bentonite beds (using exclusively the CZ data) yields a volume for the preserved deposits of ca. 37.5 km3 (Volcanic Explosivity Index - VEI = 6, Colossal). When considering other putative equivalent beds in Iberia and neighboring realms (i.e. Armorica, Sardinia) the volume of ejecta associated to this event would make it reach the Supervolcanic-Apocalyptic status (VEI = 8, > 1000 km3). At variance with most known cases of this kind of gigantic eruption events, geological observations indicate that the studied magmatic event was related to continental margin extension and thinning and not to plate convergence. We speculate that a geochronologically equivalent large caldera event recognized in the geological record of NW Iberia could be ground zero of this super-eruption.

Multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (MRM-MS) is a targeted analysis method that has been increasingly viewed as an avenue to explore proteomes with unprecedented sensitivity and throughput. We have developed a software tool, called MaRiMba, to automate the creation of explicitly defined MRM transition lists required to program triple quadrupole mass spectrometers in such analyses. MaRiMba creates MRM transition lists from downloaded or custom-built spectral libraries, restricts output to specified proteins or peptides, and filters based on precursor peptide and product ion properties. MaRiMba can also create MRM lists containing corresponding transitions for isotopically heavy peptides, for which the precursor and product ions are adjusted according to user specifications. This open-source application is operated through a graphical user interface incorporated into the Trans-Proteomic Pipeline, and it outputs the final MRM list to a text file for upload to MS instruments. To illustrate the use of MaRiMba, we used the tool to design and execute an MRM-MS experiment in which we targeted the proteins of a well-defined and previously published standard mixture.

Multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (MRM-MS) is a targeted analysis method that has been increasingly viewed as an avenue to explore proteomes with unprecedented sensitivity and throughput. We have developed a software tool, called MaRiMba, to automate the creation of explicitly defined MRM transition lists required to program triple quadrupole mass spectrometers in such analyses. MaRiMba creates MRM transition lists from downloaded or custom-built spectral libraries, restricts output to specified proteins or peptides, and filters based on precursor peptide and product ion properties. MaRiMba can also create MRM lists containing corresponding transitions for isotopically heavy peptides, for which the precursor and product ions are adjusted according to user specifications. This open-source application is operated through a graphical user interface incorporated into the Trans-Proteomic Pipeline, and it outputs the final MRM list to a text file for upload to MS instruments. To illustrate the use of MaRiMba, we used the tool to design and execute an MRM-MS experiment in which we targeted the proteins of a well-defined and previously published standard mixture. PMID:19603829

We introduce redMaGiC, an automated algorithm for selecting Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs). The algorithm was developed to minimize photometric redshift uncertainties in photometric large-scale structure studies. redMaGiC achieves this by self-training the color-cuts necessary to produce a luminosity-thresholded LRG sam- ple of constant comoving density. Additionally, we demonstrate that redMaGiC photo-zs are very nearly as accurate as the best machine-learning based methods, yet they require minimal spectroscopic training, do not suffer from extrapolation biases, and are very nearly Gaussian. We apply our algorithm to Dark Energy Survey (DES) Science Verification (SV) data to produce a redMaGiC catalog sampling the redshift range z ϵ [0.2,0.8]. Our fiducial sample has a comoving space density of 10-3 (h-1Mpc)-3, and a median photo-z bias (zspec zphoto) and scatter (σz=(1 + z)) of 0.005 and 0.017 respectively.The corresponding 5σ outlier fraction is 1.4%. We also test our algorithm with Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 8 (DR8) and Stripe 82 data, and discuss how spectroscopic training can be used to control photo-z biases at the 0.1% level.

... appropriate explanation of benefits. The explanation must include a clear statement of the enrollee's... member. (iv) Any party to which the provider makes assignment or reassigns benefits. (2) The MA... enrollee. (D) The information described in § 422.202(a)(1). (3) Announcements in newspapers, journals,...

... Section 308.521 Shipping MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS WAR RISK INSURANCE War Risk Cargo Insurance Open Policy War Risk Cargo Insurance § 308.521 Application for Open Cargo Policy, Form MA-301. The standard form of application for a War Risk Open Cargo Policy...

At the global level, seizures of crystalline methamphetamine (MA) and MA tablets have risen to a new high, indicating that the substance is an imminent threat. MA enantiomer profiling was a useful tool to investigate the prevalence of MA abuse, the intrinsic characteristics of the seized samples and the trends of precursors. In this work, the distribution of enantiomers in clandestine MA crystals and tablets seized mainly in the Yangtze River Delta region, China, from 2008 to 2014 were identified. The MA samples were diluted with internal standard methanol solution, and analyzed by LC-MS-MS. The detection limits of the enantiomers were 0.04 μg/L. The limit of quantification was 0.1 μg/L. As little as 0.2% of the R-enantiomer ratio could be determined. Standard calibration curves of S- and R-MA showed good linearity in the range of 0.1-80 μg/L (r(2) > 0.995). All of the seizures were optically pure S-enantiomer in the years 2008 and 2009. Seized samples containing a slight amount of R-MA began to appear in 2010 and increased in the year 2014. No racemic mixture or R-isomer of MA was seized. From this study, we could find out that smuggling routes and/or precursors might be silently changing in the Yangtze River Delta region, China.

A plate reorganisation event that occurred at 50 Ma has received much attention due to its association with the well-known bend in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain. We review the major tectonic events that occurred between 110 and 90 Ma and find strong evidence that a plate reorganisation at this time was global in scale, occurred over a period of 3-8 Myr, and may have been more dramatic than the 50 Ma event. While the Hawaiian-Emperor bend is synonymous with the 50 Ma event, prominent fracture zone bends in the Wharton Basin west of Australia record a drastic 50° change in the direction of spreading between Australia and India, and have long been discussed in terms of a mid-Cretaceous plate reorganisation in the Indian Ocean. Yet to-date there has been no attempt at a complete global investigation of this reorganisation to determine its magnitude and continental impact. Key tectonic events in the Atlantic-realm include a major compressional episode in the Antarctic Peninsula, a 75° counter-clockwise rotation of the Antarctic-South American spreading ridge in the Weddell Sea, an increase in spreading rate at the mid-Atlantic ridge, a change in the tectonic regime along the western convergent margin of South America from extensional to compressional, a subduction polarity reversal in the Caribbean, and changes in sedimentation patterns in African basins followed by a kimberlite emplacement pulse. The Indian-Pacific realm records back-arc basin closure, a magmatic pulse and a possible spreading ridge subduction event in the NeoTethys as well as rapid clockwise rotation of the Indian-Antarctic spreading ridge, the termination of long-lived eastern Gondwanaland subduction east of Australia, a swerve of the Pacific plate, a major unconformity in New Zealand, and a change in the geochemistry of igneous rocks in Marie Byrd Land (West Antarctica) signifying a transition from subduction-related to rift-related magmatism. The concentration of tectonic events occurred in

Eolian dust is one of the most important factors controlling fluvial hydrological evolution in modern arid and semi-arid central Asia. Here, we present the bulk carbonate Ca-Mg-Sr concentrations and Sr isotopic compositions recorded in water soluble salts, carbonate and silicate fractions, as well as the Nd isotopic compositions in the silicate fraction of a Late Miocene (12.2-5.1 Ma) fluvial sequence exhibiting paleosol development, in the Linxia Basin on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (TP). Bulk carbonate Mg-Sr systematics show a distinct pattern in log-log plots of Mg/Ca versus log Sr/Ca ratios, and clearly higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios since ∼8 Ma. These findings cannot be adequately explained by the mechanism of prior calcite precipitation (PCP) - this latter process results in a positive correlation between the Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios in authigenic calcite, evident in the fixed gradient in their log-log plots and has been isolated as being the major factor controlling carbonate Mg-Sr systematics before 8 Ma. Nor can these findings be explained by other mechanisms related to the catchment's provenance/sedimentation. The dramatic changes in carbonate Sr contents, Sr isotopes, and Sr/Mg ratios since ∼8 Ma may therefore be inferred to have been triggered by significant inputs of eolian dust via the dissolution of dust carbonates and evaporites in the paleowaters where fluvial and paleosol carbonates precipitated. This process of eolian dust input can be reliably illustrated using a binary mixing model corresponding to a series of varying PCP fluxes (identical to processes affecting the area before 8 Ma) combined with a constant eolian influx calculated from the co-variations between Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca and Sr isotopic ratios. Eolian dust also leaves a fingerprint in the carbonate and silicate minerals of bulk sediments, as revealed respectively by their Sr and Nd isotopic compositions. Eolian dust compositions for the ∼8-5 Ma on the northeastern TP can thus be taken to

A data set of 369 paleostress direction indicators (sets of dikes, veins, or fault slip vectors) is collected from previous compilations and the geologic literature. Like contemporary data, these stress directions show great variability, even over short distances. Therefore statistical methods are helpful in deciding which apparent variations in space or in time are significant. First, the interpolation technique of Bird and Li [1996] is used to interpolate stress directions to a grid of evenly spaced points in each of seventeen 5-m.y. time steps since 85 Ma. Then, a t test is used to search for stress direction changes between pairs of time windows whose sense can be determined with some minimum confidence. Available data cannot resolve local stress provinces, and only the broadest changes affecting country-sized regions are reasonably certain. During 85-50 Ma, the most compressive horizontal stress azimuth $\\hat \\sigma $1H was fairly constant at ~68° (United States) to 75° (Mexico). During 50-35 Ma, both counterclockwise stress changes (in the Pacific Northwest) and clockwise stress changes (from Nevada to New Mexico) are seen, but only locally and with about 50% confidence. A major stress azimuth change by ~90° occurred at 33 +/- 2 Ma in Mexico and at 30 +/- 2 Ma in the western United States. This was probably an interchange between $\\hat \\sigma $1 and $\\hat \\sigma $3 caused by a decrease in horizontal compression and/or an increase in vertical compression. The most likely cause was the rollback of horizontally subducting Farallon slab from under the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico, which was rapid during 35-25 Ma. After this transition, a clockwise rotation of principal stress axes by 36°-48° occurred more gradually since 22 Ma, affecting the region between latitudes 28°N and 41°N. This occurred as the lengthening Pacific/North America transform boundary gradually added dextral shear on northwest striking planes to the previous

MaNGA is a new survey that will begin in August 2014 as part of SDSS-IV with the aim of obtaining integral-field spectroscopy for an unprecedented sample of 10,000 nearby galaxies. MaNGA's key goals are to understand the "life cycle" of present day galaxies from imprinted clues of their birth and assembly, through their ongoing growth via star formation and merging, to their death from quenching at late times. To achieve these goals, MaNGA will channel the impressive capabilities of the SDSS-III BOSS spectrographs in a fundamentally new direction by marshaling the unique power of 2D spectroscopy. MaNGA will deploy 17 pluggable Integral Field Units (IFUs) made by grouping fibers into hexagonal bundles ranging from 19 to 127 fibers each. The spectra obtained by MaNGA will cover the wavelength range 3600-10,000 Angstroms (with a velocity resolution of ~ 60 km/s) and will characterize the internal composition and the dynamical state of a sample of 10,000 galaxies with stellar masses greater than 10^9 Msun and an average redshift of z ~ 0.03. Such IFU observations enable a leap forward because they provide an added dimension to the information available for each galaxy. MaNGA will provide two-dimensional maps of stellar velocity and velocity dispersion, mean stellar age and star formation history, stellar metallicity, element abundance ratio, stellar mass surface density, ionized gas velocity, ionized gas metallicity, star formation rate, and dust extinction for a statistically powerful sample. This legacy dataset will address urgent questions in our understanding of galaxy formation, including 1) The formation history of galaxy subcomponents, including the disk, bulge, and dark matter halo, 2) The nature of present-day galaxy growth via merging and gas accretion, and 3) The processes responsible for terminating star formation in galaxies. Finally, MaNGA will also play a vital role in the coming era of advanced IFU instrumentation, serving as the low-z anchor for

Outstanding questions regarding late Cenozoic Colorado Plateau landscape evolution include: (1) the relative roles of isostatic rebound as result Colorado River incision versus longer-term geodynamic processes in driving overall rock uplift of the plateau; and (2) whether incision was triggered by river integration or by a change in deep-seated mantle lithosphere dynamics. A key to answering these questions is to date more precisely the onset of incision to refine previous estimates of between 6 and 10 Ma. We present new low-temperature thermochronologic results from bedrock and deep borehole samples in the northeastern Colorado Plateau to show that rapid river incision began here at 6 Ma (5.93±0.66 Ma) with incision rates increasing from 15-50 m/Myr to 160-200 m/Myr. The onset time is constrained independently by both inverse time-temperature modeling and by the break-in-slope in fission track age-elevation relationships. This new time constraint has several important implications. First, the coincidence in time with 5.97-5.3 Ma integration of the lower Colorado River through the Grand Canyon to the Gulf of California strongly favors downstream river integration triggering carving of the canyonlands of the upper Colorado River system. Second, it implies integration of the entire Colorado River system in less than 2 million years. Third, rock uplift of the plateau driven by the flexural isostatic response to river incision is restricted to just the last 6 Ma, as is associated increased sediment budget. Fourth, incision starting at 6 Ma means that previous estimates of upper Colorado River incision rates based on 10-12 Ma basalt datum levels are too low. This also changes the dependency of measured time interval on incision rate from a non-steady-state negative power-law dependence (exponent of -0.24) to a near steady-state dependence (exponent of 0.07) meaning that long-term upper Colorado river incision rates can provide a reliable proxy for rock uplift rates.

Purpose To describe the safety and stability of sulcus placement of the MA50 intraocular lens (IOL). Patients and methods Consecutive patients with MA50 IOLs placed in the sulcus at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa, USA, from 1997 to 2012 were identified. Inclusion criteria included patients with over 4 weeks of follow-up data. AEL was compared with incidence of IOL decentration using at two-tailed Student's t-test. Results Fifty eyes of 49 patients meeting the inclusion criteria were identified. Four weeks post-operatively, the average best-corrected visual acuity was 20/30. IOL decentration occurred in 14% of patients; patients with decentered IOLs had a significantly longer average AEL (25.37 mm) than patients whose IOL remained centered (23.94 mm, P=0.017). Other complications included uveitis-glaucoma-hyphema syndrome (12%), iritis (8%), and glaucoma (6%). There were no cases of pigment dispersion syndrome or need for lens exchange. Twelve eyes (24%) had intra-operative optic capture by the anterior capsule, none of which had post-operative decentration. Conclusion The MA50 IOL is a reasonable, stable option for placement in the sulcus, with a low-risk profile; however, in eyes with longer AEL and presumably larger anterior segment, surgeons should consider placing an IOL with longer haptic distance than the MA50 to maintain centration. Optic capture of the MA50 IOL by the anterior capsule should be considered for longer eyes, as it is protective against decentration. PMID:26139047

Anxious depression is a prevalent disease with devastating consequences and a poor prognosis. Nevertheless, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this mood disorder remain poorly characterized. The LPA1 receptor is one of the six characterized G protein-coupled receptors (LPA1-6) through which lysophosphatidic acid acts as an intracellular signalling molecule. The loss of this receptor induces anxiety and several behavioural and neurobiological changes that have been strongly associated with depression. In this study, we sought to investigate the involvement of the LPA1 receptor in mood. We first examined hedonic and despair-like behaviours in wild-type and maLPA1 receptor null mice. Owing to the behavioural response exhibited by the maLPA1-null mice, the panic-like reaction was assessed. In addition, c-Fos expression was evaluated as a measure of the functional activity, followed by interregional correlation matrices to establish the brain map of functional activation. maLPA1-null mice exhibited anhedonia, agitation and increased stress reactivity, behaviours that are strongly associated with the psychopathological endophenotype of depression with anxiety features. Furthermore, the functional brain maps differed between the genotypes. The maLPA1-null mice showed increased limbic-system activation, similar to that observed in depressive patients. Antidepressant treatment induced behavioural improvements and functional brain normalisation. Finally, based on validity criteria, maLPA1-null mice are proposed as an animal model of anxious depression. Here, for we believe the first time, we have identified a possible relationship between the LPA1 receptor and anxious depression, shedding light on the unknown neurobiological basis of this subtype of depression and providing an opportunity to explore new therapeutic targets for the treatment of mood disorders, especially for the anxious subtype of depression.

This study is based on a coupled basin infilling study and a landforms analysis of the Lake Albert Rift located at the northern part of the western branch of the East African Rift. The basin infilling study is based on both subsurface data and outcrops analysis. The objective was to (1) obtain an age model based on onshore mammals biozones, (2) to reconstruct the 3D architecture of the rift using sequence stratigraphy correlations and seismic data interpretation, (3) to characterize the deformation and its changes through times and (4) to quantify the accommodation for several time intervals. The infilling essentially consists of isopach fault-bounded units composed of lacustrine deposits wherein were characterized two major unconformities dated at 6.2 Ma (Uppermost Miocene) and 2.7 Ma (Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary), coeval with major subsidence and climatic changes. The landforms analysis is based on the characterization and relative dating (geometrical relationships with volcanism) of Ugandan landforms which consist of stepped planation surfaces (etchplains and peplians) and incised valleys. We here proposed a seven-steps reconstruction of the deformation-erosion-sedimentation relationships of the Lake Albert Basin and its catchments: - 55-45 Ma: formation of laterites corresponding to the African Surface during the very humid period of the Lower-Middle Eocene; - 45-22: stripping of the African Surface in response of the beginning of the East-African Dome uplift and formation of a pediplain which associated base level is the Atlantic Ocean; - 17-2.5 Ma: Initiation of the Lake Albert Basin around 17 Ma and creation of local base levels (Lake Albert, Edward and George) on which three pediplains tend to adapt; - 18 - 16 Ma to 6.2 Ma: "Flexural" stage (subsidence rate: 150-200 m/Ma; sedimentation rate 1.3 km3/Ma between 17 and 12 Ma and 0.6 km3/Ma from 12 to 6 Ma) - depocenters location (southern part of Lake Albert Basin) poorly controlled by fault; - 6.2 Ma to 2

The phytoplankton community is controlled not only by local environmental conditions but also by physical processes occurring on different temporal and spatial scales. Hydrodynamic local conditions play an important role in marine ecosystems. Several studies have shown that hydrodynamic conditions can influence the phytoplankton settling velocity, vertical and horizontal distribution and formation of cyanobacterial blooms. Mesocosms are useful structures to simulate marine environment at mesoscale resolution; allowing to closely approximate biotic or abiotic parameters of interest directly in nature. In this work an innovative structure named PE.MA.M (PElagic MArine Mesocosm) is presented and tested. Laboratory experiments have been conducted in order to observe seasonal variations of biomass behaviour in two different hydrodynamic conditions: outside as well as whithin the PE.MA.M. We have evaluated whether it is possible to isolate a natural system from external water mass hydrodynamic exchanges and to assume that phytoplankton cells' transition is limited at the net and sea interface. Preliminary experiments test the isolating capacity of the net, to determine the currents' attenuation rate and to estimate the possible PE.MA.M. offshore behaviour. In the first investigation, we monitored the diffusion of phytoplankton cells. The PE.MA.M. exterior and interior were simulated using a plexiglass tank divided into two half-tanks (Aout-Bin) by a septum consisting of a net like a PE.MA.M. The tank was filled up with 10 L of water and only the half-tank Aout was filled up with 10 ml of phytoplankton culture (Clorella sp.). We monitored the chlorophyll concentrations for 24 hours. The two tanks had similar concentrations after 4 hours (2.70322 mg/m³ Aout and 2.37245 mg/m3 Bin) and this constant relationship was maintened until the end of the test. In the second investigation we used clod cards to measure water motions.We conducted two experiments within tank, the first

We present the first estimates of Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) plate motions at high temporal resolution during the Quaternary and Neogene based on nearly 5000 crossings of 21 magnetic reversals out to C6no (19.72 Ma) and the digitized traces of 17 fracture zones and transform faults. Our reconstructions of this slow-spreading mid-ocean ridge reveal several unexpected results with notable implications for regional and global plate reconstructions since 20 Ma. Extrapolations of seafloor opening distances to zero-age seafloor based on reconstructions of reversals C1n (0.78 Ma) through C3n.4 (5.2 Ma) reveal evidence for surprisingly large outward displacement of 5 ± 1 km west of 32°E, where motion between the Nubia and Antarctic plates occurs, but 2 ± 1 km east of 32°E, more typical of most mid-ocean ridges. Newly estimated SWIR seafloor spreading rates are up to 15 per cent slower everywhere along the ridge than previous estimates. Reconstructions of the numerous observations for times back to 11 Ma confirm the existence of the hypothesized Lwandle plate at high confidence level and indicate that the Lwandle plate's western and eastern boundaries respectively intersect the ridge near the Andrew Bain transform fault complex at 32°E and between ˜45°E and 52°E, in accord with previous results. The Nubia-Antarctic, Lwandle-Antarctic and Somalia-Antarctic rotation sequences that best fit many magnetic reversal, fracture zone and transform fault crossings define previously unknown changes in the Neogene motions of all three plate pairs, consisting of ˜20 per cent slowdowns in their spreading rates at 7.2^{+0.9 }_{ -1.4} Ma if we enforce a simultaneous change in motion everywhere along the SWIR and gradual 3°-7° anticlockwise rotations of the relative slip directions. We apply trans-dimensional Bayesian analysis to our noisy, best-fitting rotation sequences in order to estimate less-noisy rotation sequences suitable for use in future global plate reconstructions

The Grenville orogen of Laurentia and the Sveconorwegian orogen of Baltica are generally interpreted as long-lived, hot, collisional orogens resulting from collision of a possibly joined Laurentia-Baltica margin with another major plate, possibly Amazonia. Here we report new mapping, petrologic and SIMS U-Pb geochronological data from S Norway, to address the pre- to early-Sveconorwegian evolution between 1220 and 1130 Ma. The Sveconorwegian belt includes from west to east the Telemarkia terrane characterized by 1520-1480 Ma magmatism and the Idefjorden terrane characterized by Gothian active margin 1660-1520 Ma magmatism. The Idefjorden terrane is thrusted eastwards onto the parauthochthonous Eastern Segment. The Kongsberg and Bamble are two small terranes between the Idefjorden and Telemarkia terranes. They have a strong N-S and NE-SW structural grain, respectively, and are thrust westwards on top of the Telemarkia terrane. Basement metavolcanic and metaplutonic rocks in the Kongsberg terrane range from c. 1534 to 1500 Ma (5 new samples) and in Bamble from c. 1572 to 1460 Ma, overlapping with both the Telemarkia and Idefjorden terranes. New and published data show the following: (1) In Telemark, a c. 1200 Ma granitoid from the Flåvatn complex and a c. 1195 Ma granite sheet in the bimodal Nissedal supracrustals demonstrate that 1220-1180 Ma comparatively juvenile magmatism is the dominant rock type over much of southern part of Telemark. (2) A rhyolite dated at 1155 Ma complement available data showing low grade bimodal mafic-felsic volcanism interlayered with immature clastic sediments in central Telemark between 1169 and 1145 Ma (the ex-Bandak group). These supracrustals are intruded by c. 1153-1144 Ma A-type granite plutons. (3) Ten samples of foliated commonly porphyritic ganitoid and one granite dyke in gabbro collected in Kongsberg and along the Kongsberg-Telemark boundary demonstrate that c. 1171-1147 Ma bimodal plutonism occurred in Kongsberg. This

Spent fuel from LWR can be seen as long-live waste if it is not recycled or as a "new fuel" resource if it is recycled into the reactors. Uranium and plutonium have been used for "new fuel" resources from LWR spent fuel as MOX fuel type which is loaded into thermal reactor or fast reactor types. Other actinides from the spent fuel such as neptunium, americium and curium as minor actinide (MA) are considered to be loaded into the reactors for specific purposes, recently. Those purposes such as for increasing protected plutonium production and breeding capability for protected plutonium as well as in the same time those amount of MA can be reduced to a small quantity as a burner or transmutation purpose. Some investigations and scientific approaches are performed in order to increase a material "barrier" in plutonium isotope composition by increasing the even mass number of plutonium isotope such as Pu-238, Pu-240 and Pu-242 as plutonium protected composition. Higher material barrier which related to intrinsic properties of plutonium isotopes with even mass number (Pu-238, Pu-240 and Pu-242), are recognized because of their intense decay heat (DH) and high spontaneous fission neutron (SFN) rates. Those even number mass of plutonium isotope contribute to some criteria of plutonium characterization which will be adopted for present study such as IAEA, Pellaud and Kessler criteria (IAEA, 1972; Pellaud, 2002; and Kessler, 2007). The present paper intends to evaluate the breeding capability as a fuel sustainability index of the reactors and to analyze the composition of protected plutonium production of large power reactor based on the FaCT FBR as reference (Ohki, et al., 2008). Three dimensional FBR core configuration has been adopted which is based on the core optimization calculation of SRAC-CITATION code as reactor core analysis and JENDL-3.3 is adopted for nuclear data library. Some MA doping materials are loaded into the blanket regions which can be considered as

Spent fuel from LWR can be seen as long-live waste if it is not recycled or as a 'new fuel' resource if it is recycled into the reactors. Uranium and plutonium have been used for 'new fuel' resources from LWR spent fuel as MOX fuel type which is loaded into thermal reactor or fast reactor types. Other actinides from the spent fuel such as neptunium, americium and curium as minor actinide (MA) are considered to be loaded into the reactors for specific purposes, recently. Those purposes such as for increasing protected plutonium production and breeding capability for protected plutonium as well as in the same time those amount of MA can be reduced to a small quantity as a burner or transmutation purpose. Some investigations and scientific approaches are performed in order to increase a material ''barrier'' in plutonium isotope composition by increasing the even mass number of plutonium isotope such as Pu-238, Pu-240 and Pu-242 as plutonium protected composition. Higher material barrier which related to intrinsic properties of plutonium isotopes with even mass number (Pu-238, Pu-240 and Pu-242), are recognized because of their intense decay heat (DH) and high spontaneous fission neutron (SFN) rates. Those even number mass of plutonium isotope contribute to some criteria of plutonium characterization which will be adopted for present study such as IAEA, Pellaud and Kessler criteria (IAEA, 1972; Pellaud, 2002; and Kessler, 2007). The present paper intends to evaluate the breeding capability as a fuel sustainability index of the reactors and to analyze the composition of protected plutonium production of large power reactor based on the FaCT FBR as reference (Ohki, et al., 2008). Three dimensional FBR core configuration has been adopted which is based on the core optimization calculation of SRAC-CITATION code as reactor core analysis and JENDL-3.3 is adopted for nuclear data library. Some MA doping materials are loaded into the blanket regions which can be considered as

We present improved rotations, complete with uncertainties, for the Pacific-Farallon Ridge (PFR) between geomagnetic chrons 34y (83 Ma) and 10y (28.28 Ma). Despite substantial shortening since ˜55 Ma, this ridge system and its remnants (e.g. the East Pacific Rise) have produced as much as 45 per cent of all oceanic lithosphere created since the Late Cretaceous, but reconstructions face the twin challenges of extensive subduction of Farallon crust-which precludes reconstruction by fitting conjugate magnetic anomaly and fracture zone (FZ) traces-and asymmetric spreading behaviour for at least the past 51 Myr. We have calculated best-fit `half'-angle stage rotations between nine geomagnetic chron boundaries (34y, 33y, 29o, 24.3o, 20o, 18.2o, 17.1y, 13y and 10y) using combined anomaly and FZ data from both the northern and southern Pacific Plate. For rotations younger than chron 24.3o, estimates for spreading asymmetry, derived using anomaly picks from yet-to-be subducted Farallon/Nazca crust in the south Pacific, allow full stage rotations to be calculated. Between 50 and 83 Ma, where no direct constraints on spreading asymmetry are possible, a `best-fit' full stage rotation was calculated based on the net Nazca:Pacific spreading asymmetry (Pacific spreading fraction fPAC = 0.44) over the past 50 Myr, with conservative lower and upper bounds, based on variability in the degree of spreading asymmetry over periods of <15 Myr, assuming fPACs of 0.5 and 0.36, respectively. Synthetic flowlines generated from our new stage rotation produce a better match to Pacific FZ trends than previously published rotations. With the exception of the chron 18o-20o rotation, the six stage poles for rotations between chrons 33y and 13y (74-33 Ma) all cluster tightly at 60-75°E, 60-68°N, consistent with the relatively constant trend of the major Pacific FZs. This stability spans at least one episode of Farallon Plate fragmentation caused by subduction of PFR segments beneath the Americas

ABSTRACT We report here the draft genome sequence of Hydrogenibacillus schlegelii MA48, a thermophilic facultative anaerobe that can oxidize hydrogen aerobically. H. schlegelii MA48 belongs to a deep-branching clade of the Bacilli class and provides important insight into the acquisition of aerobic respiration within the Firmicutes phylum. PMID:28104644

The study focus the effectiveness of the M.A EPM program launched through distance education system of AIOU. For this purpose the performance of heads of educational institutions with and without M.A EPM degree was analyzed keeping in view different major aspects i.e. planning strategies, managerial approaches, coordination, administration and use…

Background Aquaporin (AQP) proteins function in transporting water and other small molecules through the biological membranes, which is crucial for plants to survive in drought or salt stress conditions. However, the precise role of AQPs in drought and salt stresses is not completely understood in plants. Results In this study, we have identified a PIP1 subfamily AQP (MaPIP1;1) gene from banana and characterized it by overexpression in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Transient expression of MaPIP1;1-GFP fusion protein indicated its localization at plasma membrane. The expression of MaPIP1;1 was induced by NaCl and water deficient treatment. Overexpression of MaPIP1;1 in Arabidopsis resulted in an increased primary root elongation, root hair numbers and survival rates compared to WT under salt or drought conditions. Physiological indices demonstrated that the increased salt tolerance conferred by MaPIP1;1 is related to reduced membrane injury and high cytosolic K+/Na+ ratio. Additionally, the improved drought tolerance conferred by MaPIP1;1 is associated with decreased membrane injury and improved osmotic adjustment. Finally, reduced expression of ABA-responsive genes in MaPIP1;1-overexpressing plants reflects their improved physiological status. Conclusions Our results demonstrated that heterologous expression of banana MaPIP1;1 in Arabidopsis confers salt and drought stress tolerances by reducing membrane injury, improving ion distribution and maintaining osmotic balance. PMID:24606771

Siletzia is a Paleocene-Eocene accreted terrane of submarine and subaerially erupted mafic lavas exposed in the Cascadia forearc. This large igneous province [LIP] is exposed in multiple volcanic sections from Vancouver Island, B.C., to southern Oregon [~700 km]. We estimate Siletzia magmatism at ~2.3 x 106 km3 west of the Cascades and may reach 4.6 x 106 km3 if correlative with Alaskan Yakutat terrane and significant portions of the LIP filled the Oregon Embayment. 40Ar-39Ar ages show the bulk of Siletzia erupted over a 6-7 Myr interval beginning at 56 Ma, implying eruption rates of 0.3-0.7 km3/yr. In Oregon, Siletz River volcanism began in the south [56-53 Ma] and migrated northward [54-50 Ma]. Concurrent eruptions of Metchosin and Crescent basalts do not show a southerly age progression. Therefore, Siletzia likely erupted south of the Kula-Farallon spreading center with ridge collision at or north of the Metchosin igneous complex. Isotopic data for 29 Siletzia lavas have initial 7/6Sr 0.7030-0.7037, ΕNd +4.9 - +7.7, 6/4Pb 18.70-19.94, 7/4Pb 15.49-15.63 and 8/4Pb 38.27-39.53. Olivine yield 3He/4He from 9.4 to 13.7 (R/Ra) and high MgO lavas display a narrow 187Os/188Os range (0.131-0.134) when age corrected. Both He and Os tracers are elevated above typical depleted MORB mantle and indicate plume involvement. Pb-Pb and Pb-Nd arrays suggest 3 mantle components for Siletzia volcanism: a depleted source with isotopic and trace element characteristics expected for spreading center lavas (i.e., Ku-Fa) influenced by a plume, a HIMU contaminant (i.e., high 6/4Pb; low 7/6Sr) confined to southern Siletzia, and a plume source (6/4Pb 19.00; 7/4Pb 15.55; 8/4Pb 38.60; 7/6Sr; 0.7033; ΕNd +6.4; γOs +5.0). Siletzia plume mantle is a close match to recent Yellowstone plume estimates based on early CRBG lavas. Mounting geophysical and geochemical evidence supports the contention that Siletzia is an early product of the Yellowstone hot spot in a sub-oceanic setting.

The small punch testing technique was used to assess both creep and fracture properties of the MA956 oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic steel. The anisotropy in mechanical properties was addressed, as well as the alloy's susceptibility to thermal embrittlement. Strong anisotropy was found in the material's creep resistance at 725 °C for longer rupture times. Anisotropic behavior was also observed for the ductile-brittle transition temperature (DBTT). The origin of the anisotropy can be related to the strongly directional microstructure which enables a large amount of intergranular cracking during straining at both high and low temperatures. The DBTT of the alloy is very high, and can be further increased by at least 200 °C after 1000 h of ageing at 475 °C, due to the formation of the Cr-rich α' phase. The particularly high susceptibility of the MA956 to thermal embrittlement is mainly a consequence of its high chromium content.

Ocean Drilling Program Site 1119 is ideally located to intercept discharges of sediment from the mid-latitude glaciers of the New Zealand Southern Alps. The natural gamma ray signal from the site's sediment core contains a history of the South Island mountain ice cap since 3.9 million years ago (Ma). The younger record, to 0.37 Ma, resembles the climatic history of Antarctica as manifested by the Vostok ice core. Beyond, and back to the late Pliocene, the record may serve as a proxy for both mid-latitude and Antarctic polar plateau air temperature. The gamma ray signal, which is atmospheric, also resembles the ocean climate history represented by oxygen isotope time series.

Two powerful theoretical predictions, Anderson localization and the Imry-Ma argument, impose significant restrictions on the phases of matter that can exist in the presence of even the smallest amount of disorder in one-dimensional systems. These predictions forbid electrically conducting states and ordered states respectively. It was thus remarkable that a mechanism to circumvent Anderson localization relying on the presence of correlated disorder was found, that is also realized in certain biomolecular systems. In a similar manner, we show that the Imry-Ma argument can be circumvented, resulting in the formation of stable ordered states with discrete broken symmetries in disordered one dimensional systems. We then investigate other mechanisms by which disorder can destroy an ordered state. PMID:27553458

Researchers at The University of Michigan have constructed and tested a 1-MA Linear Transformer Driver (LTD), the first of its type to reach the USA. The Michigan Accelerator for Inductive Z-pinch Experiments, (MAIZE), is based on the LTD developed at the Institute of High Current Electronics in collaboration with Sandia National Labs and UM. This LTD utilizes 80 capacitors and 40 spark gap switches, arranged in 40 'bricks,' to deliver a 1 MA, 100 kV pulse with 100 ns risetime into a matched resistive load. Preliminary resistive-load test results are presented for the LTD facility.Planned experimental research programs at UM include: a) Studies of Magneto-Raleigh-Taylor instability of planar foils, and b) Vacuum convolute studies including cathode and anode plasma.

For BERLinPro, a 100 mA CW-driven SRF energy recovery linac demonstrator facility, HZB needs to develop a photo-injector superconducting cavity which delivers a at least 1mm*mr emittance beam at high average current. To address these challenges of producing a high peak brightness beam at high repetition rate, at first HZB tested a fully superconducting injector with a lead cathode*,followed now by the design of a SC cavity allowing operation up to 4 mA using CW-modified TTF-III couplers and inserting a normal conducting high quantum efficiency cathode using the HZDR-style insert scheme. This talk will present the latest results and an overview of the measurements with the lead cathode cavity and will describe the design and optimization process, the first production results of the current design and an outlook to the further development steps towards the full power version.

MaLTPyNT (Matteo's Libraries and Tools in Python for NuSTAR Timing) provides a quick-look timing analysis of NuSTAR data, properly treating orbital gaps and exploiting the presence of two independent detectors by using the cospectrum as a proxy for the power density spectrum. The output of the analysis is a cospectrum, or a power density spectrum, that can be fitted with XSPEC (ascl:9910.005) or ISIS (ascl:1302.002). The software also calculates time lags. Though written for NuSTAR data, MaLTPyNT can also perform standard spectral analysis on X-ray data from other satellite such as XMM-Newton and RXTE.

Our understanding of the origin of the genus Homo has been hampered by a limited fossil record in eastern Africa between 2.0 and 3.0 million years ago (Ma). Here we report the discovery of a partial hominin mandible with teeth from the Ledi-Geraru research area, Afar Regional State, Ethiopia, that establishes the presence of Homo at 2.80 to 2.75 Ma. This specimen combines primitive traits seen in early Australopithecus with derived morphology observed in later Homo, confirming that dentognathic departures from the australopith pattern occurred early in the Homo lineage. The Ledi-Geraru discovery has implications for hypotheses about the timing and place of origin of the genus Homo.

In this work the corrosion behavior of a new biomaterial, the MA-956 superalloy, immersed in Hank's solution is evaluated. A comparison with conventional metallic alloys used as articular implants is established. To determine the corrosion behavior we employed electrochemical methods: evaluation of corrosion potential Ecorr, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and anodic polarization curves. The corrosion resistance of the MA-956 superalloy preoxidized at 1100 degrees C during 100 h is at least two orders of magnitude higher than for the other alloys. This satisfactory behavior is stationary with time. Also the probability of the appearance of the pitting corrosion process is very low. When cracking is generated in the alpha-alumina layer the repassivation process is assured because of the high Cr content in the superalloy. This study is the first step in proposing this new alloy as a biomaterial. The low toxicity of these metallic alloys in the physiological environment suggests that in vivo their biocompatibility could be satisfactory.

We derive the first chronologically detailed model of Eurasia-North America plate motion since 20 Ma from ship and airplane surveys of the well-expressed magnetic lineations along this slowly spreading plate boundary, including previously unavailable dense Russian magnetic data from the southern Reykjanes Ridge and northern Mid-Atlantic ridge near the Charlie Gibbs fracture zone. From more than 7000 crossings of 21 magnetic anomalies from Anomaly 1n (0.78 Ma) to Anomaly 6n (19.7 Ma), we estimate best-fitting finite rotations and realistic uncertainties. Linear regressions of total opening distances versus their reversal ages at different locations along the plate boundary show that reversal boundaries are shifted systematically outwards from the spreading axis with respect to their idealized locations, with the outward shift ranging from more than 5 km between Iceland and the Charlie Gibbs fracture zone to ~2 km elsewhere. This outward displacement, which is a consequence of the finite zone of seafloor accretion, degrades estimates of the underlying plate motion and is thus removed for the ensuing kinematic analysis. The corrected plate motion rotations reveal surprising, previously unrecognized features in the relative motions of these two plates. Within the uncertainties, motion was steady from 20 to 8 Ma around a pole that was located ~600 km north of the present pole, with seafloor spreading rates that changed by no more than 5 per cent (1 mm yr-1) along the Reykjanes Ridge during this period. Seafloor spreading rates decreased abruptly by 20 +/- 2 per cent at 7.5-6.5 Ma, coinciding with rapid southward migration of the pole of rotation and a 5°-10° counter-clockwise change in the plate slip direction. Eurasia-North America plate motion since 6.7 Ma has remained remarkably steady, with an apparently stationary axis of rotation and upper limit of +/-2 per cent on any variations in the rate of angular rotation during this period. Based on the good agreement

With the 3D data of SDSS-IV MaNGA (Bundy et al. 2015) spectra and multi-wavelength SED modeling, we expect to have a better understanding of the distribution of dust, gas and star formation of galaxy mergers. For a case study of the merging galaxy Mrk848, we use both UV-to-IR broadband SED and the MaNGA integral field spectroscopy to obtain its star formation histories at the tail and core regions. From the SED fitting and full spectral fitting, we find that the star formation in the tail regions are affected by the interaction earlier than the core regions. The core regions show apparently two times of star formation and a strong burst within 500Myr, indicating the recent star formation is triggered by the interaction. The star formation histories derived from these two methods are basically consistent.

Oxide nanoparticles in Fe-16Cr ODS ferritic steel fabricated by mechanical alloying (MA) method have been examined using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) techniques. A partial crystallization of oxide nanoparticles was frequently observed in as-fabricated ODS steel. The crystal structure of crystalline oxide particles is identified to be mainly Y{sub 4}Al{sub 2}O{sub 9} (YAM) with a monoclinic structure. Large nanoparticles with a diameter larger than 20 nm tend to be incoherent and have a nearly spherical shape, whereas small nanoparticles with a diameter smaller than 10 nm tend to be coherent or semi-coherent and have faceted boundaries. The oxide nanoparticles become fully crystallized after prolonged annealing at 900 C. These results lead us to propose a three-stage formation mechanism of oxide nanoparticles in MA/ODS steels.

Two powerful theoretical predictions, Anderson localization and the Imry-Ma argument, impose significant restrictions on the phases of matter that can exist in the presence of even the smallest amount of disorder in one-dimensional systems. These predictions forbid electrically conducting states and ordered states respectively. It was thus remarkable that a mechanism to circumvent Anderson localization relying on the presence of correlated disorder was found, that is also realized in certain biomolecular systems. Here, in a similar manner, we show that the Imry-Ma argument can be circumvented, resulting in the formation of stable ordered states with discrete broken symmetries in disordered one dimensional systems. We then investigate other mechanisms by which disorder can destroy an ordered state.

Two powerful theoretical predictions, Anderson localization and the Imry-Ma argument, impose significant restrictions on the phases of matter that can exist in the presence of even the smallest amount of disorder in one-dimensional systems. These predictions forbid electrically conducting states and ordered states respectively. It was thus remarkable that a mechanism to circumvent Anderson localization relying on the presence of correlated disorder was found, that is also realized in certain biomolecular systems. Here, in a similar manner, we show that the Imry-Ma argument can be circumvented, resulting in the formation of stable ordered states with discrete broken symmetries in disorderedmore » one dimensional systems. We then investigate other mechanisms by which disorder can destroy an ordered state.« less

Glass fiber (GF) reinforced polypropylene (PP) has become a common composite material used for various applications. Previous reports indicated that grafting ratio and molecular weight (MW) of znaleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) are the two most significant factors affecting the mechanical properties of PP/PP-g-MA/GF composites, but the combined effect of these two factors remains controversial. The study of the importance of MA grafting ratio and MW is continued in this work using PPIPP-g MA/GF composites containing various grades and concentrations of PP-g MA compatibilizer. First, MFR and FT1R analyses were performed to characterize the physical and chemical properties- of each PP-g-MA resin. Then, premixed PP and PP-g-MA blend were compounded with GF via twin screw extrusion, with the compounds injection molded into tensile, flexural and Izod impact specimens (all ASTM standard) for mechanical properties testing. Generally speaking, at a given GF content, higher compatibilizer concentrations led to higher tensile, flexural and notched Izod impact strength up to an optimum MA concentrations above which these properties tended to level off PP-g-MA resins with higher grafting ratio were more efficient compatibilizers as indicated by improved tensile, flexural and impact properties at lower PP-g-MA contents. In addition, MW was expected to affect properties as well, with too high and too 16w MW values leading to reduced reinforcement. While the optimum MW values for tensile and impact strength were still not clear based on present results, the estimated optimum weight average MW for maximum flexural strength was 90,000 +/- 1,400 g/mol.

This software provides a new capability for landed Mars assets to perform forward link relay through the Mars Express (MEX) European Union orbital spacecraft. It solves the problem of standardizing the relay interface between lander missions and MEX. The Mars Operations Relay Service (MaROS) is intended as a central point for relay planning and post-pass analysis for all Mars landed and orbital assets. Through the first two phases of implementation, MaROS supports relay coordination through the Odyssey orbiter and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). With this new software, MaROS now fully integrates the Mars Express spacecraft into the relay picture. This new software generates and manages a new set of file formats that allows for relay request to MEX for forward and return link relay, including the parameters specific to MEX. Existing MEX relay planning interactions were performed via email exchanges and point-to-point file transfers. By integrating MEX into MaROS, all transactions are managed by a centralized service for tracking and analysis. Additionally, all lander missions have a single, shared interface with MEX and do not have to integrate on a mission-by mission basis. Relay is a critical element of Mars lander data management. Landed assets depend largely upon orbital relay for data delivery, which can be impacted by the availability and health of each orbiter in the network. At any time, an issue may occur to prevent relay. For this reason, it is imperative that all possible orbital assets be integrated into the overall relay picture.

Wisdom Way Solar Village is an appropriate moniker for the 20-unit community of energy-efficient duplexes in Greenfield, MA. The homes meet the requirements of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Builders Challenge, achieving HERS scores of 8 to 18 by packing energy efficiency features into the compact, heavily insulated homes and adding solar water heating and photovoltaics on top, to net home owners energy cost savings of at least $2,500 per year per home.

Parametric decay of incident waves of ion cyclotron frequency range into linear modes is observed in experiment performed in the SINP MaPLE device where nitrogen plasma produced by ECR discharge. Along with a mode in drift wave frequency range, sideband of the incident waves are observed when amplitude of the exciter signal goes above a threshold value. Sideband of the second harmonic is also seen. Preliminary studies point towards excitation of ion Bernstein wave. Details of the experimental results are presented.

State variable representations are presented for a continuous-time plant driven by a zero-order-hold with multirate-sampled measurements prefiltered by multi-input/multi-output moving average (MA) processes. These representations have broad application, but are known to be useful in the aerospace field for modeling systems with star trackers and some state-of-the-art rate-gyroscopes and accelerometers.

The Hawaii-Emperor and Louisville hotspot tracks have long dominated the data set constraining absolute plate motion models. However, prior to ~80 Ma, multiple shorter, discontinuous hotspot trails and oceanic plateaus have been used to constrain absolute plate motion. Based on this earlier work, a clear Hawaii-Emperor style bend seems apparent around 100 Ma in the West Pacific Seamount Province (WPSP). More importantly, the ongoing debate on a plate versus plume motion origin for the Hawaii-Emperor Bend is applicable here, as the ~100 Ma bend may correspond to a global plate reorganization (Matthews et al., EPSL, 2012). Data for a comparison of bends comes from three groups with similar geographic patterns: 1) Mid-Pacific Mountains, Line Islands; 2) Shatsky Rise, Hess Rise, Musician and Wentworth Seamounts; and 3) Wake Seamounts, Marshall Islands, Magellan Seamounts. Both groups 1 and 2 feature a large igneous province (LIP) at their oldest end: Shatsky Rise and the Mid-Pacific Mountains. According to plate reconstructions these LIPs were constructed near all-ridge triple junctions, thus potential plume-ridge interactions need to be clarified before these LIPs can be used to define an absolute mantle reference frame. In contrast, the volcanoes of the third group (Wake, Marshall, Magellan) did erupt truly intra-plate and we therefore argue that this group provides a constraint on plate motion beyond 80 Ma that is independent of plume-ridge interactions. Since the volcanoes in this group are part of the WPSP, which is densely populated with seamounts, a combination of 40Ar/39Ar ages and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopes is needed to distinguish different hotspot tracks in this region. Backtracking each volcano through its age to its original eruptive location and using compositional color-coding, reveals groupings and patterns that vary by plate motion model, while the temporal patterns of backtracked locations inform us about potential plume motions.

MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory) is a 6-yr SDSS-IV (Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV) survey that will obtain resolved spectroscopy from 3600 to 10 300 Å for a representative sample of over 10 000 nearby galaxies. In this paper, we derive spatially resolved stellar population properties and radial gradients by performing full spectral fitting of observed galaxy spectra from P-MaNGA, a prototype of the MaNGA instrument. These data include spectra for 18 galaxies, covering a large range of morphological type. We derive age, metallicity, dust, and stellar mass maps, and their radial gradients, using high spectral-resolution stellar population models, and assess the impact of varying the stellar library input to the models. We introduce a method to determine dust extinction which is able to give smooth stellar mass maps even in cases of high and spatially non-uniform dust attenuation. With the spectral fitting, we produce detailed maps of stellar population properties which allow us to identify galactic features among this diverse sample such as spiral structure, smooth radial profiles with little azimuthal structure in spheroidal galaxies, and spatially distinct galaxy sub-components. In agreement with the literature, we find the gradients for galaxies identified as early type to be on average flat in age, and negative (-0.15 dex/Re) in metallicity, whereas the gradients for late-type galaxies are on average negative in age (-0.39 dex/Re) and flat in metallicity. We demonstrate how different levels of data quality change the precision with which radial gradients can be measured. We show how this analysis, extended to the large numbers of MaNGA galaxies, will have the potential to shed light on galaxy structure and evolution.

Newly exposed cave sediments at the Malapa site include a flowstone layer capping the sedimentary unit containing the Australopithecus sediba fossils. Uranium-lead dating of the flowstone, combined with paleomagnetic and stratigraphic analysis of the flowstone and underlying sediments, provides a tightly constrained date of 1.977 ± 0.002 million years ago (Ma) for these fossils. This refined dating suggests that Au. sediba from Malapa predates the earliest uncontested evidence for Homo in Africa.

The Macromolecular Neutron Diffractometer (MaNDi) is located on beamline 11B of the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Moreover, the instrument is a neutron time-of-flight wavelength-resolved Laue diffractometer optimized to collect diffraction data from single crystals. Finally, the instrument has been designed to provide flexibility in several instrumental parameters, such as beam divergence and wavelength bandwidth, to allow data collection from a range of macromolecular systems.

The Macromolecular Neutron Diffractometer (MaNDi) is located on beamline 11B of the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Moreover, the instrument is a neutron time-of-flight wavelength-resolved Laue diffractometer optimized to collect diffraction data from single crystals. Finally, the instrument has been designed to provide flexibility in several instrumental parameters, such as beam divergence and wavelength bandwidth, to allow data collection from a range of macromolecular systems.

In the past 10 years the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has increased hugely worldwide, driven by a rise in the numbers of overweight and obese individuals. A number of diets have been shown to be effective for the management of T2DM: the Mediterranean diet, the vegetarian diet and the low-calorie diet. Results of studies clearly indicate, however, that the efficacy of these diets is not solely related to the biochemical structure of the individual nutrients they contain. This review discusses this point with reference to the potential role of the intestinal microbiota in diabetes. The macrobiotic Ma-Pi 2 diet is rich in carbohydrates, whole grains and vegetables, with no animal fat or protein or added sugar. In short- and medium-term trials conducted in patients with T2DM, the Ma-Pi 2 diet has been found to significantly improve indicators of metabolic control, including fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, the serum lipid profile, body mass index, body weight and blood pressure. The diet may also alter the gut microbiota composition, which could additionally affect glycemic control. As a result, the Ma-Pi 2 diet could be considered a valid additional short- to medium-term treatment for T2DM.

The potential of using cluster clustering for calibrating the mass-richness relation of galaxy clusters has been recognized theoretically for over a decade. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of this technique to achieve high-precision mass calibration using redMaPPer clusters in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey North Galactic Cap. By including cross-correlations between several richness bins in our analysis, we significantly improve the statistical precision of our mass constraints. The amplitude of the mass-richness relation is constrained to 7 per cent statistical precision by our analysis. However, the error budget is systematics dominated, reaching a 19 per cent total error that is dominated by theoretical uncertainty in the bias-mass relation for dark matter haloes. We confirm the result from Miyatake et al. that the clustering amplitude of redMaPPer clusters depends on galaxy concentration as defined therein, and we provide additional evidence that this dependence cannot be sourced by mass dependences: some other effect must account for the observed variation in clustering amplitude with galaxy concentration. Assuming that the observed dependence of redMaPPer clustering on galaxy concentration is a form of assembly bias, we find that such effects introduce a systematic error on the amplitude of the mass-richness relation that is comparable to the error bar from statistical noise. The results presented here demonstrate the power of cluster clustering for mass calibration and cosmology provided the current theoretical systematics can be ameliorated.

Deciphering the sources of eolian dust on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) is fundamental to reconstruct paleo-wind patterns and paleo-environmental changes. Existing datasets show contradictory source evolutions of eolian dust on the CLP, both on orbital and tectonic timescales. Here, the silicate Sr and Nd isotopic compositions of a restricted grain size fraction (28–45 μm) were measured to trace the source evolution of the CLP since ~2.7 Ma. Our results revealed an unchanged source on orbital timescales but a gradual source shift from the Qilian Mountains to the Gobi Altay Mountains during the past 2.7 Ma. Both tectonic uplift and climate change may have played important roles for this shift. The later uplift of the Gobi Altay Mountains relative to the Qilian Mountains since 5 ± 3 Ma might be responsible for the increasing contribution of Gobi materials to the source deserts in Alxa arid lands. Enhanced winter monsoon may also facilitate transportation of Gobi materials from the Alxa arid lands to the CLP. The shifting source of Asian dust was also reflected in north Pacific sediments. The finding of this shifting source calls for caution when interpreting the long-term climate changes based on the source-sensitive proxies of the eolian deposits. PMID:25996645

The 100 ka rhythm of orbital eccentricity has dominated large-amplitude climatic variations in the high-latitude North Atlantic during the Brunhes magnetic chron (0-0.735 Ma BP). Earlier, during the Matuyama chron (0.735-2.47 Ma BP), climatic variations in this region were lower in amplitude and concentrated mainly at the 41 ka rhythm of orbital obliquity. These rhythmic climatic responses to orbital forcing are evident both in stable isotopic (δ18O) indicators of ice volume or temperature and in biotic and lithologic indicators of local North Atlantic surfaceocean variability. The synchronous responses of these indicators are consistent with results from atmospheric general circulation models showing that the North American ice sheet directly controls North Atlantic surface-ocean responses via strong cold winds that are generated on the northern ice-sheet flanks and blow out across the ocean, chilling its surface. Before 2.47 Ma BP, smaller-scale quasiperiodic oscillations of the planktonic fauna and flora occurred, but the cause of these variations in the absence of significant ice sheets is unclear.

The potential of using cluster clustering for calibrating the mass–richness relation of galaxy clusters has been recognized theoretically for over a decade. In this paper, we demonstrate the feasibility of this technique to achieve high-precision mass calibration using redMaPPer clusters in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey North Galactic Cap. By including cross-correlations between several richness bins in our analysis, we significantly improve the statistical precision of our mass constraints. The amplitude of the mass–richness relation is constrained to 7 per cent statistical precision by our analysis. However, the error budget is systematics dominated, reaching a 19 per cent total error that is dominated by theoretical uncertainty in the bias–mass relation for dark matter haloes. We confirm the result from Miyatake et al. that the clustering amplitude of redMaPPer clusters depends on galaxy concentration as defined therein, and we provide additional evidence that this dependence cannot be sourced by mass dependences: some other effect must account for the observed variation in clustering amplitude with galaxy concentration. Assuming that the observed dependence of redMaPPer clustering on galaxy concentration is a form of assembly bias, we find that such effects introduce a systematic error on the amplitude of the mass–richness relation that is comparable to the error bar from statistical noise. Finally, the results presented here demonstrate the power of cluster clustering for mass calibration and cosmology provided the current theoretical systematics can be ameliorated.

The metallurgical and mechanical properties of friction welded MA 956 oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) iron-based superalloy material were investigated. The mechanical properties of friction welded joints were evaluated using a combination of room temperature and elevated temperature tensile testing and creep rupture testing. The microstructural features and particle characteristics were examined using optical and transmission electron microscopy. The distribution of residual stress in completed joints was analyzed using FEM analysis. The room temperature and elevated temperature tensile strengths of friction welded joints were similar to those of as-received MA 956 base material and, in all cases, failure occurred away from the weld interface. However, the creep rupture properties of friction welded joints were much poorer than those of as-received MA 956 base material. The friction welding operation created low-aspect-ratio, fully recrystallized grains at the joint centerline and substantially altered the oxide particle chemistry, dimensions and shape in the joint region. It is speculated that the coarse, irregularly shaped particles in regions immediately adjacent to the weld interface were produced as a result of a strain-induced agglomeration of small-diameter yttria dispersoids with larger-diameter alumina and Ti(C,N) particles.

A structural health monitoring system has been installed in the cable-supported bridges located in the West of Hong Kong, i.e. the Tsing Ma Control Area. These cable-supported bridges are the Tsing Ma (Suspension) Bridge, the Kap Shu Mun (Cable- Stayed) Bridge and the Ting Kau (Cable-Stayed Bridge) Bridge. The monitoring system of Tsing Ma Bridge and Kap Shui Mun Bridge has been operated since May 1997, whereas the monitoring system of Ting Kau Bridge has been operated since November 1998. In past years, data received from the monitoring systems have been processed, and analyzed and archived. This paper first briefly outlines the operation of the data processing and analysis, and then presents: (1) the load effects monitoring results such as wind, temperature and traffic (highway and railway), and (2) the bridge responses monitoring results such as displacements, stresses/strains, accelerations and cables forces. Comparisons between monitoring results and design parameters and assumptions for the cable-supported bridges are also presented.

To enhance the removal efficiency of malathion in the wastewater from organophosphate pesticide mill, a bacterium, Acinetobacter johnsonii MA19, that could degrade malathion with cometabolism was isolated from malathion-polluted soil samples using enrichment culture techniques. Four kinds of additional compounds, sodium succinate, sodium acetate, glucose, and fructose were tested to choose a favorite carbon source for the cometabolism of strain MA19. The results showed that sodium succinate and sodium acetate could promote malathion biodegradation and cell growth. The investigation results of the effects of sodium succinate concentrations on the malathion biodegradation indicated that the more sodium succinate supplied resulted in quick degradation of malathion and fast cells multiplied. Zero-order kinetic model was appropriate to describe the malathion biodegradation when the concentration of sodium succinate was more than 0.5144 g/L. The degradation rate constant (K) reached the maximum value of 3.5837 mg/(L x h) when the mass ratio of sodium succinate to malathion was 128.6 mg/mg. The aquatic toxicity of the malathion was evaluated using the test organism, Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri. The data obtained suggested that the toxicity of malathion could be ignored after 84 h biodegradation. Our result demonstrates the potential for using bacterium A. johnsonii MA19 for malathion biodegradation and environmental bioremediation when some suitable conventional carbon sources are supplied.

Precursor plasmas, both the early time precursor flow of mass and the accumulation of this material on axis, were observed on many z-pinch experiments at various facilities, including low current (< 1MA) and high current (>15 MA, Z) facilities. The impact of these precursors on stagnated plasmas, and targets such as those used for ICF experiments, is still under evaluation. Experiments were performed at the UNR 1-MA, 100ns Zebra facility to study these precursor plasmas with Cu wire arrays. Significant precursor radiation at photon energies > 1 keV was observed on filtered PCDs. Te and ne of the precursor radiation were obtained from modeling of time-resolved spectroscopy of the Cu L-shell emissions for 6 wires on 12mm diameter loads. The precursor plasma temperatures are consistently >250eV. Time resolved pinhole images were also collected, which show bright spots of radiation along the axial length of the pinch. Sandia is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the US DOE under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. Work was also supported by the DOE/NNSA Coop. agr. DE-FC52-06NA27616, 06NA27588, 06NA27586, and by fellowship from the NPSC with SNL.

In the past 10 years the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has increased hugely worldwide, driven by a rise in the numbers of overweight and obese individuals. A number of diets have been shown to be effective for the management of T2DM: the Mediterranean diet, the vegetarian diet and the low-calorie diet. Results of studies clearly indicate, however, that the efficacy of these diets is not solely related to the biochemical structure of the individual nutrients they contain. This review discusses this point with reference to the potential role of the intestinal microbiota in diabetes. The macrobiotic Ma-Pi 2 diet is rich in carbohydrates, whole grains and vegetables, with no animal fat or protein or added sugar. In short- and medium-term trials conducted in patients with T2DM, the Ma-Pi 2 diet has been found to significantly improve indicators of metabolic control, including fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, the serum lipid profile, body mass index, body weight and blood pressure. The diet may also alter the gut microbiota composition, which could additionally affect glycemic control. As a result, the Ma-Pi 2 diet could be considered a valid additional short- to medium-term treatment for T2DM. PMID:25897351

The purpose of the Matter-Radiation Interactions in Extremes (MaRIE) facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory is to investigate the performance limits of materials in extreme environments. The MaRIE facility will utilize a 12 GeV linac to drive an X-ray Free-Electron Laser (FEL). Most of the same linac will also be used to perform electron radiography. The main linac is driven by two shorter linacs; one short linac optimized for X-FEL pulses and one for electron radiography. The RF systems have historically been the one of the largest single component costs of a linac. We will describe the details of the different types of RF systems required by each part of the linacs. Starting with the High Power RF system, we will present our methodology for the choice of RF system peak power and pulselength with respect to klystron parameters, modulator parameters, performance requirements and relative costs. We will also present an overview of the Low Level RF systems that are proposed for MaRIE and briefly describe their use with some proposed control schemes.

Nanostructured ferritic alloys (NFAs) provide exceptional radiation tolerance and high-temperature mechanical properties when compared to traditional ferritic and ferritic/martensitic (F/M) steels. Their remarkable properties result from ultrahigh density and ultrafine size of Y-Ti-O nanoclusters within the ferritic matrix. In this work, we applied a high-energy synchrotron radiation X-ray to study the deformation process of two NFAs including 14YWT and MA957, and a 9-Cr ODS steel. Only the relatively large nanoparticles in the 9-Cr ODS were observed in the synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The nanoclusters in both 14 YWT and MA957 were invisible in the measurement due to their non-stoichiometric nature. Due to the different sizes of nanoparticles and nanoclusters in the materials, the Orowan looping was considered to be the major strengthening mechanism in the 9-Cr ODS, while the dispersed-barrier-hardening is dominant strengthening mechanism in both 14YWT and MA957, respectively. This analysis was inferred from the different build-up rates of dislocation density when plastic deformation was initiated. Finally, the dislocation densities interpreted from the X-ray measurements were successfully modeled using the Bergstr m s dislocation models.

Based on the survey of benthic algae in the intertidal zone of Ma' an Archipelago from March to July 2007, the algal species composition, distribution, and temperature feature were studied. The dominant algal species in the study area were preliminarily analyzed by using similarity indices (S(c)) and index of relative importance (IRI(c)). A total of 31 species sampled in sublittoral area were identified, among which, 7 species of 5 genera belonged to Chlorophyta, 8 species of 5 genera belonged to Phaeophyta, and 16 species of 14 genera belonged to Rhodophyta. Topical and selective distribution species influenced by wave and tide were identified in the intertidal zone. Ulva pertusa and Sargassum thunbergii were found in all survey area. Rhodophyta was the dominant species, with the occurring frequency being up to 61.1%, and Chlorophyta showed quite uniformed horizontal distribution. In addition, 81% of sampled species were from low-tide zone, and some were extended from mid-tide zone to low-tide zone. The composition comparability between mid-tide and low-tide species was 0.47, and the convergence effect in mid-tide and low-tide zone was higher than that in high-tide and mid-tide zone. The sublittoral area of Ma' an Archipelago showed obvious vertical zoning character, with temperate species being absolute abundant, and the warm-water species dominant. The marine floral texture of Ma' an Archipelago belongs to warm temperate-subtropical transitional marine flora.

A synthetic Militarin analog-1[(2R,3R,4R,5R)-1,6-bis(4-(2,4,4-trimethylpentan-2-yl)phenoxy) hexane-2,3,4,5-tetraol] is a novel derivative of constituents from Cordyceps militaris, which has been used to treat a variety of chronic diseases including inflammation, diabetes, hyperglycemia and cancers. Here, we report for the first time the synthesis of Militarin analog-1 (MA-1) and the apoptotic mechanism of MA-1 against human lung cancer cell lines. Treatment with MA-1 significantly inhibited the viability of 3 human lung cancer cell lines. The inhibition of viability and growth in MA-1-treated A549 cells with an IC{sub 50} of 5 μM were mediated through apoptosis induction, as demonstrated by an increase in DNA fragmentation, sub-G{sub 0}/G{sub 1}-DNA fraction, nuclear condensation, and phosphatidylserine exposure. The apoptotic cell death caused mitochondrial membrane permeabilization through regulation of expression of the Bcl-2 family proteins, leading to cytochrome c release in a time-dependent manner. Subsequently, the final stage of apoptosis, activation of caspase-9/-3 and cleavage of poly (ADP ribose) polymerase, was induced. Furthermore, A549 lung cancer cells were more responsive to MA-1 than a bronchial epithelial cell line (BEAS-2B), involving the rapid generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. The pharmacological inhibition of ROS generation and JNK/p38 MAPK exhibited attenuated DNA fragmentation in MA-1-induced apoptosis. Oral administration of MA-1 also retarded growth of A549 orthotopic xenografts. In conclusion, the present study indicates that the new synthetic derivative MA-1 triggers mitochondrial apoptosis through ROS generation and regulation of MAPKs and may be a potent therapeutic agent against human lung cancer. - Highlights: • We report a novel synthesized derivative, militarin analog-1 (MA-1). • MA-1-induced cancer cell death was triggered by

The volcano-tectonic events at the Villa de Reyes Graben (VRG), in the southern Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico, include 1) a regional NNE fault system developed before 32 Ma, 2) this pre-32 Ma faulting controlled the emplacement of 31.5 Ma dacitic domes, 3) NE faulting at 28 Ma that displaced the 31.5 Ma dacitic domes and formed the VRG, as well as the oblique grabens of Bledos and Enramadas oriented NW, 4) emplacement of Panalillo ignimbrite at 28 Ma filling the VRG and erupting from fissures related to the oblique grabens, and eruption of Placa basalt apparently also from fault-controlled vents.

Ma'adim Vallis, one of the largest valleys in the Martian highlands, appears to have originated by catastrophic overflow of a large paleola ke located south of the valley heads. Ma'adim Vallis debouched to Gus ev crater, 900 km to the north, the landing site for the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover. Support for the paleolake overflow hypothesis come s from the following characteristics: (I) With a channel width of 3 km at its head, Ma'adim Vallis originates at two (eastern and western) gaps incised into the divide of the approximately 1.1 M km(exp 2) enc losed Eridania head basin, which suggests a lake as the water source. (2) The sinuous course of Ma'adim Vallis is consistent with overland flow controlled by preexisting surface topography, and structural con trol is not evident or required to explain the valley course. (3) The nearly constant approximately 5 km width of the inner channel through crater rim breaches, the anastomosing course of the wide western tri butary, the migration of the inner channel to the outer margins of be nds in the valley's lower reach, a medial sedimentary bar approximate ly 200 m in height, and a step-pool" sequence are consistent with modeled flows of 1-5 x l0 (exp 6) m(exp 3)/s. Peak discharges were likely higher but are poorly constrained by the relict channel geometry. (4 ) Small direct tributary valleys to Ma'adim Vallis have convex-up lon gitudinal profiles, suggesting a hanging relationship to a valley that was incised quickly relative to the timescales of tributary developm ent. (5) The Eridania basin had adequate volume between the initial d ivide and the incised gap elevations to carve Ma'adim Vallis during a single flood. (6) The Eridania basin is composed of many overlapping , highly degraded and deeply buried impact craters. The floor materials of the six largest craters have an unusually high internal relief ( approximately 1 km) and slope (approximately 0.5-1.5 degrees) among d egraded Martian craters, which are usually

Context. This paper is the first in a series undertaking a comprehensive correlation analysis between optically selected and X-ray-selected cluster catalogues. The rationale of the project is to develop a holistic picture of galaxy clusters utilising optical and X-ray-cluster-selected catalogues with well-understood selection functions. Aims: Unlike most of the X-ray/optical cluster correlations to date, the present paper focuses on the non-matching objects in either waveband. We investigate how the differences observed between the optical and X-ray catalogues may stem from (1) a shortcoming of the detection algorithms; (2) dispersion in the X-ray/optical scaling relations; or (3) substantial intrinsic differences between the cluster populations probed in the X-ray and optical bands. The aim is to inventory and elucidate these effects in order to account for selection biases in the further determination of X-ray/optical cluster scaling relations. Methods: We correlated the X-CLASS serendipitous cluster catalogue extracted from the XMM archive with the redMaPPer optical cluster catalogue derived from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (DR8). We performed a detailed and, in large part, interactive analysis of the matching output from the correlation. The overlap between the two catalogues has been accurately determined and possible cluster positional errors were manually recovered. The final samples comprise 270 and 355 redMaPPer and X-CLASS clusters, respectively. X-ray cluster matching rates were analysed as a function of optical richness. In the second step, the redMaPPer clusters were correlated with the entire X-ray catalogue, containing point and uncharacterised sources (down to a few 10-15 erg s-1 cm-2 in the [0.5-2] keV band). A stacking analysis was performed for the remaining undetected optical clusters. Results: We find that all rich (λ ≥ 80) clusters are detected in X-rays out to z = 0.6. Below this redshift, the richness threshold for X-ray detection

Ma'adim Vallis, one of the largest valleys in the Martian highlands, appears to have originated by catastrophic overflow of a large paleolake located south of the valley heads. Ma'adim Vallis debouched to Gusev crater, 900 km to the north, the landing site for the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover. Support for the paleolake overflow hypothesis comes from the following characteristics: (1) With a channel width of 3 km at its head, Ma'adim Vallis originates at two (eastern and western) gaps incised into the divide of the ~1.1 M km2 enclosed Eridania head basin, which suggests a lake as the water source. (2) The sinuous course of Ma'adim Vallis is consistent with overland flow controlled by preexisting surface topography, and structural control is not evident or required to explain the valley course. (3) The nearly constant ~5 km width of the inner channel through crater rim breaches, the anastomosing course of the wide western tributary, the migration of the inner channel to the outer margins of bends in the valley's lower reach, a medial sedimentary bar ~200 m in height, and a step-pool sequence are consistent with modeled flows of 1-5 × 106 m3/s. Peak discharges were likely higher but are poorly constrained by the relict channel geometry. (4) Small direct tributary valleys to Ma'adim Vallis have convex-up longitudinal profiles, suggesting a hanging relationship to a valley that was incised quickly relative to the timescales of tributary development. (5) The Eridania basin had adequate volume between the initial divide and the incised gap elevations to carve Ma'adim Vallis during a single flood. (6) The Eridania basin is composed of many overlapping, highly degraded and deeply buried impact craters. The floor materials of the six largest craters have an unusually high internal relief (~1 km) and slope (~0.5-1.5°) among degraded Martian craters, which are usually flat-floored. Long-term, fluvial sediment transport appears to have been inhibited within these craters

As a University Space Research Association (USRA) intern for NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) during the summer 2016 work term, I worked on three main projects for the Space Exploration Division (NC) of the Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) Directorate. I worked on all three projects concurrently. One of the projects involved facilitating the status and closure of technical actions that were created during European Service Module (ESM) safety reviews by the MPCV Safety & Engineering Review Panel (MSERP). The two main duties included accurately collecting and summarizing qualitative data, and communicating that information to the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus (ESA's prime contractor) in a clear, succinct and precise manner. This project also required that I create a report on the challenges and opportunities of international S&MA. With its heavy emphasis on soft skills, this project taught me how to communicate better, by showing me how to present and share information in an easy-to-read and understandable format, and by showing me how to cooperate with and culturally respect international partners on a technical project. The second project involved working with the Orion Thermal Protection System (TPS) Process Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (PFMEA) Working Group to create the first full version of the Orion TPS PFMEA. The Orion TPS PFMEA Working Group met twice a week to analyze the Avcoat block installation process for failure modes, the failure modes effects, and how such failure modes could be controlled. I was in charge of implementing changes that were discussed in meeting, but were not implemented real time. Another major task included creating a significant portion of the content alongside another team member outside the two weekly meetings. This project caused me to become knowledgeable about TPS, heatshields, space-rated manufacturing, and non-destructive evaluation (NDE). The project also helped me to become better at working with a small

A layered body of amphibolite, banded iron formation (BIF), and ultramafic rocks from the island of Akilia, southern West Greenland, is cut by a quartz-dioritic sheet from which SHRIMP zircon 206Pb/207Pb weighted mean ages of 3865 +/- 11 Ma and 3840 +/- 8 Ma (2 sigma) can be calculated by different approaches. Three other methods of assessing the zircon data yield ages of >3830 Ma. The BIFs are interpreted as water-lain sediments, which with a minimum age of approximately 3850 Ma, are the oldest sediments yet documented. These rocks provide proof that by approximately 3850 Ma (1) there was a hydrosphere, supporting the chemical sedimentation of BIF, and that not all water was stored in hydrous minerals, and (2) that conditions satisfying the stability of liquid water imply surface temperatures were similar to present. Carbon isotope data of graphitic microdomains in apatite from the Akilia island BIF are consistent with a bio-organic origin (Mojzsis et al. 1996), extending the record of life on Earth to >3850 Ma. Life and surface water by approximately 3850 Ma provide constraints on either the energetics or termination of the late meteoritic bombardment event (suggested from the lunar cratering record) on Earth.

Zircons are crucial to understanding the first 500 Myr of crustal evolution of Earth. Very few zircons of this age (>4050 Ma) have been found other than from a ~300 km diameter domain of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia. Here we report SIMS U-Pb and O isotope ratios and trace element analyses for two ~4100 Ma detrital zircons from a Paleozoic quartzite at the Longquan area of the Cathaysia Block. One zircon (207Pb/206Pb age of 4127 ± 4 Ma) shows normal oscillatory zonation and constant oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O = 5.8 to 6.0‰). The other zircon grain has a ~4100 Ma magmatic core surrounded by a ~4070 Ma metamorphic mantle. The magmatic core has elevated δ18O (7.2 ± 0.2‰), high titanium concentration (53 ± 3.4 ppm) and a positive cerium anomaly, yielding anomalously high calculated oxygen fugacity (FMQ + 5) and a high crystallization temperature (910°C). These results are unique among Hadean zircons and suggest a granitoid source generated from dry remelting of partly oxidizing supracrustal sediments altered by surface waters. The ~4100 Ma dry melting and subsequent ~4070 Ma metamorphism provide new evidence for the diversity of the Earth's earliest crust. PMID:24888297

A layered body of amphibolite, banded iron formation (BIF), and ultramafic rocks from the island of Akilia, southern West Greenland, is cut by a quartz-dioritic sheet from which SHRIMP zircon 206Pb/207Pb weighted mean ages of 3865 +/- 11 Ma and 3840 +/- 8 Ma (2 sigma) can be calculated by different approaches. Three other methods of assessing the zircon data yield ages of >3830 Ma. The BIFs are interpreted as water-lain sediments, which with a minimum age of approximately 3850 Ma, are the oldest sediments yet documented. These rocks provide proof that by approximately 3850 Ma (1) there was a hydrosphere, supporting the chemical sedimentation of BIF, and that not all water was stored in hydrous minerals, and (2) that conditions satisfying the stability of liquid water imply surface temperatures were similar to present. Carbon isotope data of graphitic microdomains in apatite from the Akilia island BIF are consistent with a bio-organic origin (Mojzsis et al. 1996), extending the record of life on Earth to >3850 Ma. Life and surface water by approximately 3850 Ma provide constraints on either the energetics or termination of the late meteoritic bombardment event (suggested from the lunar cratering record) on Earth.

CONSTANS (CO) gene is a key transcription regulator that controls the long-day induction of flowering in Arabidopsis plant. However, CO gene involved in fruit ripening and stress responses is poorly understood. In the present study, a novel cDNA encoding CONSTANS-like gene, designated as MaCOL1 was isolated and characterized from banana fruit. The full length cDNA sequence was 1887bp with an open reading frame (ORF) of 1242bp, encoding 414 amino acids with a molecular weight of 46.20kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 5.40. Sequence alignment showed that MaCOL1 contained two B-box zinc finger motifs and a CCT domain. In addition, MaCOL1 showed transcriptional activity in yeast and was a nucleus-localized protein. Real-time PCR analysis showed that MaCOL1 was differentially expressed among various banana plant organs, with higher expression in flower. Expression of MaCOL1 in peel changed slightly, while accumulation of MaCOL1 transcripts in pulp obviously increased during natural or ethylene-induced fruit ripening, suggesting that MaCOL1 might be associated with the pulp ripening of banana fruit. Moreover, accumulation of MaCOL1 transcript was obviously enhanced by abiotic and biotic stresses, such as chilling and pathogen Colletotrichum musae infection. Taken together, our results suggest that MaCOL1 is a transcription activator and may be involved in fruit ripening and stress responses.

A total of 51 sites with geochronological control were sampled in the central and western segments of the Transmexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB). Together with other previously published 69 sites from the eastern segment, they span the spatial and temporal activity of the TMVB. Using now the same reference directions and methodologies, they are analyzed in order (i) to determine the possible occurrence and significance (spatially and temporally) of vertical axis crustal block rotations that have been reported in this region; and (ii) to study the geomagnetic Paleo Secular Variation during the last 10 Ma; to check the previously suggested existence of a "Pacific Dipole Window" extending to Mexico. Paleomagnetic results, backed by statistical tests performed according to their geographical distribution (3 structural segments) or according to their ages (Late Miocene, Pliocene or Quaternary), do not support the notion that large vertical axis block rotations (paleomagnetically detectable) occurred in this arc after Late Miocene times. They suggest that the TMVB could be considered paleomagnetically as an unique tectonic domain under a transtensional regime, where its extension component prevails over its left-lateral component. The mean paleomagnetic directions, obtained in the age ranges 10-5 Ma and 5-0 Ma, do not differ from their respective reference directions. In both datasets, VGPs have been selected using quality Fisher's precision parameters and optimum cutoff angles. This results in a circularly symmetrical data distribution with statistically indistinguishable antipodal normal and reverse polarities. VGP dispersions are consistent with those from globally distributed observations at Mexican latitudes for the Miocene and the Plio- Quaternary. An analysis of all the published paleomagnetic data from the TMVB, when combined all together and selected in the same terms, do not support neither the existence of large crustal block rotations nor the persistence of a

The Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer (MaGIXS) is a NASA soundingrocket instrument designed to observe soft X-ray emissions at 0.5 - 2.0 keV energies in thesolar atmosphere. The primary science goal is to differentiate steady, low-frequency heatingevents from sporadic, high-frequency heating events in the active region core For the first time, high-temperature, low-emission plasma will be observed directly with 5 arcsec spatialand 22 mÅ spectral resolution. The novel optical design consists of a Wolter I telescope anda 3-optic grazing-incidence spectrograph. The X-ray spectrograph utilizes a finite conjugatemirror pair and a planar, nanoprinted-silicon varied line space grating, which is being devel-oped by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The telescope and spectrographmirrors will be nickel replicated and coated with iridium. Mandrel fabrication and nickelreplication will be done at MSFC as part of its replicated X-ray optics program. Mounting,alignment, and integration of the ight optics will be performed at the Harvard-SmithsonianCenter for Astrophysics (SAO). The MaGIXS science camera is being developed at MSFCand is based on CLASP heritage, which obtained read noise performance of 5.5 e?- RMS. Thecamera will include a e2v Technologies 2kx2k frame transfer CCD with 4-channel readout(500 kpixel/s/channel). We will present an overview of the MaGIXS optical system andfabrication of the telescope and spectrograph mirrors.

Acoustic force patterning is an emerging technology that provides a platform to control the spatial location of cells in a rapid, accurate, yet contactless manner. However, very few studies have been reported on the usage of acoustic force patterning for the rapid arrangement of biological objects, such as cells, in a three-dimensional (3D) environment. In this study, we report on a bio-acoustic force patterning technique, which uses surface acoustic waves (SAWs) for the rapid arrangement of cells within an extracellular matrix-based hydrogel such as gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA). A proof-of-principle was achieved through both simulations and experiments based on the in-house fabricated piezoelectric SAW transducers, which enabled us to explore the effects of various parameters on the performance of the built construct. The SAWs were applied in a fashion that generated standing SAWs (SSAWs) on the substrate, the energy of which subsequently was transferred into the gel, creating a rapid, and contactless alignment of the cells (<10 s, based on the experimental conditions). Following ultraviolet radiation induced photo-crosslinking of the cell encapsulated GelMA pre-polymer solution, the patterned cardiac cells readily spread after alignment in the GelMA hydrogel and demonstrated beating activity in 5-7 days. The described acoustic force assembly method can be utilized not only to control the spatial distribution of the cells inside a 3D construct, but can also preserve the viability and functionality of the patterned cells (e.g. beating rates of cardiac cells). This platform can be potentially employed in a diverse range of applications, whether it is for tissue engineering, in vitro cell studies, or creating 3D biomimetic tissue structures.

The paper proposes the evaluation of the technical performance of a regional landslide early warning system by means of an original approach, called EDuMaP method, comprising three successive steps: identification and analysis of the Events (E), i.e. landslide events and warning events derived from available landslides and warnings databases; definition and computation of a Duration Matrix (DuMa), whose elements report the time associated with the occurrence of landslide events in relation to the occurrence of warning events, in their respective classes; evaluation of the early warning model Performance (P) by means of performance criteria and indicators applied to the duration matrix. During the first step, the analyst takes into account the features of the warning model by means of ten input parameters, which are used to identify and classify landslide and warning events according to their spatial and temporal characteristics. In the second step, the analyst computes a time-based duration matrix having a number of rows and columns equal to the number of classes defined for the warning and landslide events, respectively. In the third step, the analyst computes a series of model performance indicators derived from a set of performance criteria, which need to be defined by considering, once again, the features of the warning model. The proposed method is based on a framework clearly distinguishing between local and regional landslide early warning systems as well as among correlation laws, warning models and warning systems. The applicability, potentialities and limitations of the EDuMaP method are tested and discussed using real landslides and warnings data from the municipal early warning system operating in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

Due to its relatively low level of antigenicity and high durability, titanium has successfully been used as the major material for biological implants. However, because the typical interface between titanium and tissue precludes adequate transmission of load into the surrounding bone, over time, load-bearing implants tend to loosen and revision surgeries are required. Osseointegration of titanium implants requires presentation of both biological and mechanical cues that promote attachment of and trigger mineral deposition by osteoblasts. While many factors contribute to differentiation, the relative importance of the various cues is unclear. To substantially improve osseointegration of titanium implants, we generated a gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) scaffold, using an extrusion-based 3D bioprinter, which can be directly printed on and grafted to the titanium implant surface. We demonstrate that this scaffold is able to trigger mineral deposition of both MG63 osteoblasts and primary normal human osteoblasts in the absence of any exogenous osteogenic factors. Films of the same formulation failed to promote mineral deposition suggesting that the three dimensional scaffold was able to tip the balance in favor of differentiation despite other potentially unfavorable differentiation cues of the material. We further show that these GelMA lattices can be directly grafted to titanium alloy and are secure in vitro over a period of seven weeks. When grafted within a groove system, the GelMA hydrogel is protected from shearing forces in a marrow implantation model. This prepares the way for osteogenic coatings to be directly manufactured on the implant surface and packaged for surgery.

Due to its relatively low level of antigenicity and high durability, titanium has successfully been used as the major material for biological implants. However, because the typical interface between titanium and tissue precludes adequate transmission of load into the surrounding bone, over time, load-bearing implants tend to loosen and revision surgeries are required. Osseointegration of titanium implants requires presentation of both biological and mechanical cues that promote attachment of and trigger mineral deposition by osteoblasts. While many factors contribute to differentiation, the relative importance of the various cues is unclear. To substantially improve osseointegration of titanium implants, we generated a gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) scaffold, using an extrusion-based 3D bioprinter, which can be directly printed on and grafted to the titanium implant surface. We demonstrate that this scaffold is able to trigger mineral deposition of both MG63 osteoblasts and normal human primary osteoblasts in the absence of any exogenous osteogenic factors. Films of the same formulation failed to promote mineral deposition suggesting that the three dimensional scaffold was able to tip the balance in favor of differentiation despite other potentially unfavorable differentiation cues of the material. We further show that these GelMA lattices can be directly grafted to titanium alloy and are secure in vitro over a period of seven weeks. When grafted within a groove system, the GelMA hydrogel is protected from shearing forces in a marrow implantation model. This prepares the way for osteogenic coatings to be directly manufactured on the implant surface and packaged for surgery.

Continental arcs have been recently hypothesized to outflux large amounts of CO2 compared to island arcs so that global flare-ups in continental arc magmatism might drive long-term greenhouse events. Quantitative testing of this hypothesis, however, has been limited by the lack of detailed studies on the spatial distribution of continental arcs through time. Here, we compile a worldwide database of geological maps and associated literature to delineate the surface exposure of granitoid plutons, allowing reconstruction of how the surface area addition rate of granitoids and the length of continental arcs have varied since 750 Ma. These results were integrated into an ArcGIS framework and plate reconstruction models. We find that the spatial extent of continental arcs is episodic with time and broadly matches the detrital zircon age record. Most vigorous arc magmatism occurred during the 670-480 Ma and the 250-50 Ma when major greenhouse events are recognized. Low continental arc activity characterized most of the Cryogenian, middle-late Paleozoic, and Cenozoic when climate was cold. Our results indicate that plate tectonics is not steady, with fluctuations in the nature of subduction zones possibly related in time to the assembly and dispersal of continents. Our results corroborate the hypothesis that variations in continental arc activity may play a first order role in driving long-term climate change. The dataset presented here provides a quantitative basis for upscaling continental arc processes to explore their effects on mountain building, climate, and crustal growth on a global scale.

We describe updates to the redMaPPer algorithm, a photometric red-sequence cluster finder specifically designed for large photometric surveys. The updated algorithm is applied to 150 {{deg}}2 of Science Verification (SV) data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), and to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR8 photometric data set. The DES SV catalog is locally volume limited and contains 786 clusters with richness λ \\gt 20 (roughly equivalent to {M}{{500c}}≳ {10}14 {h}70-1 {M}⊙ ) and 0.2\\lt z\\lt 0.9. The DR8 catalog consists of 26,311 clusters with 0.08\\lt z\\lt 0.6, with a sharply increasing richness threshold as a function of redshift for z≳ 0.35. The photometric redshift performance of both catalogs is shown to be excellent, with photometric redshift uncertainties controlled at the {σ }z/(1+z)˜ 0.01 level for z≲ 0.7, rising to ˜0.02 at z˜ 0.9 in DES SV. We make use of Chandra and XMM X-ray and South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zeldovich data to show that the centering performance and mass-richness scatter are consistent with expectations based on prior runs of redMaPPer on SDSS data. We also show how the redMaPPer photo-z and richness estimates are relatively insensitive to imperfect star/galaxy separation and small-scale star masks.

The potential of using cluster clustering for calibrating the mass–richness relation of galaxy clusters has been recognized theoretically for over a decade. In this paper, we demonstrate the feasibility of this technique to achieve high-precision mass calibration using redMaPPer clusters in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey North Galactic Cap. By including cross-correlations between several richness bins in our analysis, we significantly improve the statistical precision of our mass constraints. The amplitude of the mass–richness relation is constrained to 7 per cent statistical precision by our analysis. However, the error budget is systematics dominated, reaching a 19 per cent total errormore » that is dominated by theoretical uncertainty in the bias–mass relation for dark matter haloes. We confirm the result from Miyatake et al. that the clustering amplitude of redMaPPer clusters depends on galaxy concentration as defined therein, and we provide additional evidence that this dependence cannot be sourced by mass dependences: some other effect must account for the observed variation in clustering amplitude with galaxy concentration. Assuming that the observed dependence of redMaPPer clustering on galaxy concentration is a form of assembly bias, we find that such effects introduce a systematic error on the amplitude of the mass–richness relation that is comparable to the error bar from statistical noise. Finally, the results presented here demonstrate the power of cluster clustering for mass calibration and cosmology provided the current theoretical systematics can be ameliorated.« less

We describe updates to the redMaPPer algorithm, a photometric red-sequence cluster finder specifically designed for large photometric surveys. The updated algorithm is applied to $150\\,\\mathrm{deg}^2$ of Science Verification (SV) data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), and to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR8 photometric data set. The DES SV catalog is locally volume limited, and contains 786 clusters with richness $\\lambda>20$ (roughly equivalent to $M_{\\mathrm{500c}}\\gtrsim10^{14}\\,h_{70}^{-1}\\,M_{\\odot}$) and 0.2 < $z$ <0.9. The DR8 catalog consists of 26311 clusters with 0.08 < $z$ < 0.6, with a sharply increasing richness threshold as a function of redshift for $z\\gtrsim 0.35$. The photometric redshift performance of both catalogs is shown to be excellent, with photometric redshift uncertainties controlled at the $\\sigma_z/(1+z)\\sim 0.01$ level for $z\\lesssim0.7$, rising to $\\sim0.02$ at $z\\sim0.9$ in DES SV. We make use of $Chandra$ and $XMM$ X-ray and South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zeldovich data to show that the centering performance and mass--richness scatter are consistent with expectations based on prior runs of redMaPPer on SDSS data. We also show how the redMaPPer photo-$z$ and richness estimates are relatively insensitive to imperfect star/galaxy separation and small-scale star masks.

Minimization is a valuable method for allocating participants between the control and experimental arms of clinical studies. The use of minimization reduces differences that might arise by chance between the study arms in the distribution of patient characteristics such as gender, ethnicity and age. However, unlike randomization, minimization requires real time assessment of each new participant with respect to the preceding distribution of relevant participant characteristics within the different arms of the study. For multi-site studies, this necessitates centralized computational analysis that is shared between all study locations. Unfortunately, there is no suitable freely available open source or free software that can be used for this purpose. OxMaR was developed to enable researchers in any location to use minimization for patient allocation and to access the minimization algorithm using any device that can connect to the internet such as a desktop computer, tablet or mobile phone. The software is complete in itself and requires no special packages or libraries to be installed. It is simple to set up and run over the internet using online facilities which are very low cost or even free to the user. Importantly, it provides real time information on allocation to the study lead or administrator and generates real time distributed backups with each allocation. OxMaR can readily be modified and customised and can also be used for standard randomization. It has been extensively tested and has been used successfully in a low budget multi-centre study. Hitherto, the logistical difficulties involved in minimization have precluded its use in many small studies and this software should allow more widespread use of minimization which should lead to studies with better matched control and experimental arms. OxMaR should be particularly valuable in low resource settings.

Abstract Background: Childhood obesity is highly prevalent, is associated with both short- and long-term adverse outcomes, disproportionately affects racial/ethnic minority and economically deprived children, and represents a major threat to public health. Among the most promising approaches for its prevention and management are multilevel, multisector strategies. Methods/Design: The Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (MA-CORD) Study was a comprehensive, systematic intervention to prevent and reduce childhood obesity among low-income children ages 2–12 years in two selected cities in Massachusetts. Building on the Obesity Chronic Care Model, MA-CORD expanded a state public health department community-level obesity prevention initiative that incorporated evidence-based interventions in primary healthcare, the Women, Infants, and Children program, early care and education, schools/afterschool programs, as well as community-wide programs to improve food, beverage, physical activity (PA), and messaging environments. The study used a combination of pre– and post–time series and quasi-experimental designs to examine the extent to which the intervention resulted in changes in BMI, individual-level lifestyle behaviors, satisfaction with healthcare services, and quality of life among children, as well as changes in health policies, programs, and environments in the two intervention cities, compared to a comparison city. The intervention period was 2 years. Conclusions: MA-CORD will determine the extent to which a multisetting, multilevel intervention that integrates activities in primary care with broader public health interventions in schools, early care and education, and the community at large can improve children's dietary and PA behaviors and ultimately reduce obesity in low-income children. PMID:25469676

In this study, the East Asian climate during the Late Cretaceous ( ca 80 Ma) is examined by using the Community Climate System Model Version 2 (CCSM2) from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the reconstructed palaeogeographic data. The simulation results indicate that the large-scale prevailing wind directions and pressure systems over East Asia showed a remarkable seasonal variation during 80 Ma, so that it can be inferred that there existed a monsoon circulation over East Asia at that time. Compared to the present climate, the atmospheric circulation systems over the Eurasian continent in the Late Cretaceous showed a stronger meridional feature, which was possibly correspondent to a smaller lateral extension of the Eurasian continent at that time. Moreover, under a warmer background in the Late Cretaceous, the winter and summer monsoons over East Asia showed a synchronous variation, with a stronger winter monsoon as well as a stronger summer monsoon. The pattern of annual mean precipitation was similar to that of the present climate, with the maximum precipitation appearing in the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) between 10°S and 10°N. There was also more precipitation over the eastern coasts of the continent adjacent to the western Pacific, with the central value exceeding 1200 mm, and there was less precipitation in the midlatitudes of the inland areas. Although a more precipitation belt also appeared near 30°N over the western Pacific, which was similar to the present climate, there was no high precipitation belt over the land of East Asia. This feature implies that the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau plays an important role in the formation of the present baiu (plum rains). Moreover, the simulated climate over East Asia during 80 Ma was warmer relative to the present and the surface air temperature was 2 °C higher at the same latitudes compared to the present climate. This simulation result is closer to the estimation from the

Recently, the first X-pinch experiments were performed at enhanced current on the Zebra generator using the Load Current Multiplier (LCM). Previously, X-pinches were found to achieve the highest K-shell electron temperatures at 1 MA on Zebra and these new experiments were performed to determine how the increased current will affect the radiative properties of the X-pinches. A comparison of the linear radiation yields suggests an increase of around 50% for the LCM experiments (˜10 kJ/cm at 1 MA, ˜16 kJ/cm with LCM). These experiments used Cu or Ti alloy (6% Al, 4% V) wires for a first look at X-pinches at 1.5-1.7 MA at the University of Nevada, Reno. For Cu X-pinches, intense L-shell Cu radiation with electron temperatures >300 eV was recorded by both time gated and time integrated spectrometers. The time gated spectra show an evolution of line intensities from the high Rydberg states. For Ti alloy X-pinches, many interesting results from time gated spectra recorded during the Ti experiments were found such as: (i) the appearance of characteristic emission of Ti (wire material) and Fe (hardware material) in different orders of reflection beginning shortly before the first x-ray burst that was recorded for the next 15 ns, (ii) prominent K-shell Al radiation from the Ti alloy experiments despite the low percentage of Al in the alloy, and (iii) K-shell Al radiation that corresponds to 400-550 eV plasmas starting near the first x-ray burst. Time integrated spectra recorded intense K-shell Al radiation and K-shell Ti radiation from higher order reflections.

MA Shi and ZHANG Jie-bin are famous annotators of Huangdi Neijing and their annotations are well- regarded. However, influenced by the style of practice of the Ming dynasty, some of their annotations are less than satisfactory. For instance, the words "ni" and "cong" in the phrase "Ni cong yin yang" are synonyms, which mean obedience, and the meaning of the word "an" in the phrase "an er shou zhi" is not "message" or "examination" but "inhibition". Also, the word "zou" in the phrase "gu hao zou" is "to run"; "qu" in the phrase "qu pijie" means "to leave". This thesis raises several incorrect annotations for the readers' reference.

A novel normalization method based on the GC content of probes is developed for two-color tiling arrays. The proposed method, together with robust estimates of the model parameters, is shown to perform superbly on published data sets. A robust algorithm for detecting peak regions is also formulated and shown to perform well compared to other approaches. The tools have been implemented as a stand-alone Java program called MA2C, which can display various plots of statistical analysis for quality control. PMID:17727723

Lake Bosumtwi is a hydrologically closed lake occupying a 1.07 Ma impact crater in Ghana, West Africa. The lake lies beneath the path of the seasonal migration of the ITCZ and therefore can provide a sedimentary record of monsoon variability in West Africa. Scientific drilling recovered a 291-m long sediment section that spans the full 1 Ma history of the lake. This long continental record is ideal for comparison to long marine and ice-core records at both glacial-interglacial and abrupt-change timescales. Oxygen-isotope stratigraphy, derived from calcareous fossils, often provides age control and a way to place individual marine sediment cores into a global stratigraphic framework. Lacking a direct tie-in to the marine oxygen-isotope stratigraphy, individual lacustrine basins can present challenges for global correlation. Through radiocarbon, optically stimulated luminescence and paleomagnetic dating, limited age control has been established for the 1 Ma Lake Bosumtwi sediment sequence. Within a Bosumtwi sediment sequence that is mostly laminated occur intervals of non-laminated sediment having increased density, decreased organic content and a high-coercivity magnetic mineral assemblage. Some of these massive layers contain slump-folding and intraformational clasts. These lithologies are interpreted to represent lake-level lowstands when a diminished West African summer monsoon resulted in decreased moisture balance and lake-level regression. Some Bosumtwi lake-level lowstands match intervals of increased sea surface salinity in the Gulf of Guinea resulting from reduced river discharge (Weldeab et al. 2007, Science, 316, 1303-1307). However, during other intervals (MIS2) there are differences between the two records. Corresponding to glacial stages and stadials, increased amounts of high-coercivity magnetic minerals are present in the Lake Bosumtwi sediment. Elevated aerosol dust export from arid Sahel sources, possibly accompanied by enhanced magnetic

There is considerable evidence for a global plate tectonic reorganization at ~Chron 21, as suggested by observed changes in global relative plate motion (RPM). The timings of these events appear to coincide with the age of the Hawaiian Emperor Bend (HEB), i.e., ~47-50 Ma. This 120° bend has traditionally been the poster child for the fixed hotspot hypothesis, suggesting the Pacific plate underwent a change in absolute plate motion (APM) as it moved over a more or less stationary Hawaiian hotspot. However, palaeomagnetic evidence favors southward motion of the Hawaii hotspot during the Emperor stage, limiting the amount of APM change required. In the Indo-Atlantic realm, RPMs involving Africa all seem compatible with a change in Africa APM around ~50 Ma. If this global plate reorganization took place there should also be physical evidence on the Africa plate itself due to the change in Africa APM. A candidate for such evidence may be the Réunion-Mascarene bend, which exhibits many HEB-like features. However, the Réunion hotspot also created the Chagos-Laccadive ridge as it encountered (and later crossed) the Carlsberg Ridge, and the oldest Mascarene section closest to the Seychelles may be continental in origin; thus there is some uncertainty in how to interpret the geometry. Furthermore, published APM models have had difficulty modeling this abrupt change in orientation. To reexamine this problem we derived a new Africa APM model that goes back to ~65 Ma using the Hybrid Polygonal Finite Rotation Method. The modeling incorporates the geometry and ages of seamount chains on the Africa plate and their associated hotspots as suitable constraints on an Africa APM model. The present as well as earlier positions of hotspots can be adjusted to get the best fit for the model. We examine how models with or without a ~50 Ma bend satisfy the geometries and age progressions of hotspot chains on the Africa plate and how well the predictions match observed paleolatitudes.

Abstract A new species, Popowia bachmaensis Ngoc, Tagane & Yahara, sp. nov. is described from Bach Ma National Park in Thua Thien Hue Province, Central Vietnam. This species is morphologically similar to Popowia pisocarpa (Blume) Endl. ex Walp., but can be readily distinguished from it by its lower stems, smaller leaves, shorter flowering pedicels, shorter carpels, longer sepals and inner petals. A detailed description, comprising illustrations, and supplemented with DNA barcodes of the two regions of rbcL and matK, are provided. PMID:27489493

Over the past three decades the Town of Hull, MA has solidified its place in U.S. wind energy history through its leadership in community-based generation. This is illustrated by its commissioning of the first commercial-scale wind turbine on the Atlantic coastline, the first suburban-sited turbine in the continental United States, pursuit of community-based offshore wind, and its push toward creating an energy independent community. The town's history and demographics are briefly outlined, followed by experience in projects to provide wind power, including pre-construction and feasibility efforts, financial aspects, and market/industry factors.

It has been a long time since people recognized the word "Ma Zhui (anesthesia)" which was also recorded in the medical literature of past generations, for example: anesthesia powder, the magic prescription of toad powder of Huatuo, magic sleeping powder, 'knock-out' drops etc. In 1846, etherization was applied in clinic successfully, since then modern anesthesiology has had a process of more than 150 years during which the concept of the word "anesthesia" changed constantly. Reviewing the evolution of the origin and the concept of the word "anesthesia" can be of benefit to recognize and understand the concept and nature of "anesthesia" to improve clinical anesthesia.

standard D-series sustainer and the standard launch vehicle ( SLV -3) sustainer. The booster program consisted of verifying the adaptability and...clips and (2) lower the profile of the four drain lines to minimize the gap between the boot and the aspirator. The SLV -3 program consisted of studies to...minimize the gap between the radiation boot and the aspirator caused by the addition of the one- inch lube drain line added to the SLV -3 sustainer by ECP MA5-65. The pulse criteria has been established at 2.5 psi.

Tool marks are reported from ca. 1750 Ma storm deposits in the upper Cottee Formation, McArthur basin, Northern Territory, Australia. The tool marks are distinct from the common forms produced by bouncing and skimming intraclasts and pebbles, and it is interpreted that they were produced by drifting elongate strands and clusters of strands of a flexible material gently dragging across the sea floor. The only known natural substances with these properties are organic. It is interpreted that the marks were produced by drifting filaments of eukaryotic algae significantly larger than any known from actual fossils in rocks of this antiquity.

A major plate reorganization is postulated to have occurred at approximately 100 Ma. However, this reorganization has received limited attention, despite being associated with the most prominent suite of fracture zone bends on the planet and many other geological events. We investigate tectonic events from the period ˜110 to 90 Ma and show that the reorganization occurred between 105 and 100 Ma, was global in scale, and affected all major plates. Seafloor evidence for plate motion changes is abundant during this period, with either fracture zone bends or terminations preserved in all ocean basins. Long-lived eastern Gondwanaland subduction ended along a 7000 km long section of the margin, while elsewhere around the proto-Pacific rim subduction continued and there is evidence that compressional stresses increased in the overriding plates. Thrusting in western North America, transpression and basin inversion in eastern Asia, and development of the present-day Andean-style margin along western South America occurred contemporaneous with the development of an extensional regime in eastern Gondwanaland. Basin instability in Africa and western Europe further demonstrates that lithospheric stress regime changes were widespread at this time. Considering the timing of the reorganization and the nature of associated plate boundary changes, we suggest that eastern Gondwanaland subduction cessation is the most likely driving mechanism for the reorganization. Subduction is the dominant driver of plate motion and therefore this event had the potential to strongly modify the balance of driving forces acting on the plates in the southwestern proto-Pacific and neighboring plates, whereby producing widespread changes in plate motion and continental lithospheric stress patterns. We propose that major changes in ridge-trench interaction triggered the cessation of subduction. The progressive subduction of two closely spaced perpendicular mid ocean ridges at the eastern Gondwanaland

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) require considerable intercultural openness on the part of the managers involved. A recent wave of takeovers by private equity investors and foreign investors from emerging economies has challenged German executives. In cases of friendly takeovers, as described in this study, managers at first appear to extend a cosmopolitan welcome to the new owners. However, further analysis of structural hermeneutics reveals latent normative professional ethics of managers which lead to practices of distancing, in particular from young investors from China, India, and Russia.

The PT-symmetric and PT-antisymmetric Akhmediev breather (AB) and Kuznetsov-Ma (KM) soliton train solutions of a (2+1)-dimensional variable-coefficient coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equation in PT-symmetric coupled waveguides with gain and loss are derived via the Darboux transformation method. From these analytical solutions, we investigate the controllable behaviors of AB and KM soliton trains in a diffraction decreasing system with exponential profile. By adjusting the relation between the maximum Zm of effective propagation distance and the peak locations Zi of AB and KM soliton trains, we can control the restraint, maintenance and postpone excitations of AB and KM soliton trains.

The presentation slides examine: The Journey, Current Safety and Mission Assurance (S and MA) Oversight/Insight, The Change, The Issue, Potential NASA relationship with Commercial Partners, and Commercial "X" FRR - Are you Go.

MADS-box transcription factors play important roles in organ development. In plants, most studies on MADS-box genes have mainly focused on flower development and only a few concerned fruit development and ripening. A new MADS-box gene named MaMADS7 was isolated from banana fruit by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) based on a MADS-box fragment obtained from a banana suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) cDNA library. MaMADS7 is an AGAMOUS-like MADS-box gene that is preferentially expressed in the ovaries and fruits and in tobacco its protein product localizes to the nucleus. This study found that MaMADS7 expression can be induced by exogenous ethylene. Ectopic expression of MaMADS7 in tomato resulted in broad ripening phenotypes. The expression levels of seven ripening and quality-related genes, ACO1, ACS2, E4, E8, PG, CNR and PSY1 in MaMADS7 transgenic tomato fruits were greatly increased while the expression of the AG-like MADS-box gene TAGL1 was suppressed. Compared with the control, the contents of β-carotene, lycopene, ascorbic acid and organic acid in transformed tomato fruits were increased, while the contents of glucose and fructose were slightly decreased. MaMADS7 interacted with banana 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) oxidase gene 1 (MaACO1) and tomato phytoene synthase gene (LePSY1) promoters. Our results indicated that MaMADS7 plays an important role in initiating endogenous ethylene biosynthesis and fruit ripening.

Most harvested fruits and vegetables are stored at low temperature but many of them are highly sensitive to chilling injury. Jasmonic acid (JA), a plant hormone associated with various stress responses, is known to reduce chilling injury in fruits. However, little is known about the transcriptional regulation of JA biosynthesis in relation to cold response of fruits. Here, we show the involvement of a Group I WRKY transcription factor (TF) from banana fruit, MaWRKY26, in regulating JA biosynthesis. MaWRKY26 was found to be nuclear-localized with transcriptional activation property. MaWRKY26 was induced by cold stress or by methyl jasmonate (MeJA), which enhances cold tolerance in banana fruit. More importantly, MaWRKY26 transactivated JA biosynthetic genes MaLOX2, MaAOS3 and MaOPR3 via binding to their promoters. Further, MaWRKY26 physically interacted with a VQ motif-containing protein MaVQ5, and the interaction attenuated MaWRKY26-induced transactivation of JA biosynthetic genes. These results strongly suggest that MaVQ5 might act as a repressor of MaWRKY26 in activating JA biosynthesis. Taken together, our findings provide new insights into the transcriptional regulation of JA biosynthesis in response to cold stress and a better understanding of the molecular aspects of chilling injury in banana fruit. PMID:27004441

The refractory mineral zircon develops distinct morphological features during shock metamorphism and retains these features under conditions that would anneal them in other minerals. In addition, weakly shocked zircon grains give primary ages for the impact site, while highly reconstituted (polycrystalline) single grains give ages that approach the age of the impact event. Data for a series of originally coeval grains will define a mixing line that gives both of these ages providing that no subsequent geological disturbances have overprinted the isotopic systematics. In this study, we have shown that the three zircon grain types described by Bohor, from both K-T distal ejecta (Fireball layer, Raton Basin, Colorado) and the Onaping Formation, represent a progressive increase in impact-related morphological change that coincides with a progressive increase in isotopic resetting in zircons from the ejecta and basement rocks. Unshocked grains are least affected by isotopic resetting while polycrystalline grains are most affected. U-Pb isotopic results for 12 of 14 single zircon grains from the Fireball layer plot on or close to a line recording a primary age of 550 +/- 10 Ma and a secondary age of 65.5 +/- 3 Ma. Data for the least and most shocked grains plot closest to the primary and secondary ages respectively. The two other grains each give ages between 300 and 350 Ma. This implies that the target ejecta was dominated by 550-Ma rocks and that the recrystallization features of the zircon were superimposed during the impact event at 65.5 Ma. A predominant age of 550 Ma for zircons from the Fireball layer provides an excellent opportunity to identify the impact site and to test the hypothesis that multiple impacts occurred at this time. A volcanic origin for the Fireball layer is ruled out by shock-related morphological changes in zircon and the fact that the least shocked grains are old. Basement Levack gneisses north of the Sudbury structure have a primary age of

Ischemic colitis is a condition that usually occurs in the elderly, as a form of vascular disease. However, ischemic colitis also occurs, though rarely, in healthy young adults. Moreover, food supplements containing Ephedra sinica or ma huang have been linked to adverse central nervous and cardiovascular events. A 40-year-old man was admitted to our emergency department after 2 episodes of abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea that lasted 24 hours. His medical history was unremarkable for risk factors of bowel ischemia, except for well-controlled hypertension. However, a weight-loss supplement, Ephedra sinica, had been prescribed for daily use during the previous month. Both abdominal/pelvic computed tomography and colonoscopy revealed findings compatible with ischemic colitis. His conditions spontaneously improved without any serious complications, and he was advised to discontinue the use of herbal medications containing ephedrine. In this paper, we describe a case of ischemic colitis that was potentially linked to the use of ma huang with a review of the relevant literature. PMID:18581601

The high cycle fatigue (HCF) and cyclic crack growth rate (CCGR) properties of the dispersion strengthened ODS-alloy MA 6000 were investigated with smooth bars and with fracture mechanics samples at 850 C. The material was very coarse-grained with the grains elongated in the rolling direction. The fatigue limit of samples cut parallel to the grain elongation direction (p-samples) was almost a factor of 2 higher than the one of samples cut transverse to the elongation direction (t-samples). Inclusions were found to be responsible for crack initiation. For p-samples a reasonable agreement between particle size, fatigue limit, and crack growth behavior was found. For t-type samples such an agreement also exists, provided differences in the crack growth behavior of short cracks and long cracks are taken into consideration. The low fatigue strength of t-samples could be linked with low Young's modulus in this direction. The crack propagation rate of long cracks is lower in t-samples than in p-samples due to crack branching along the grain boundaries. HCF-strength of MA 6000 is high compared to conventional cast alloys mainly because of reduced size of crack nucleation sites and higher fatigue threshold stress intensity range, as a result of higher Young's modulus. 15 references.

MaCWAVE M ountain A nd C onvective W aves A scending Ve rtically was a highly coordinated rocket ground-based and satellite program designed to address gravity wave forcing of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere MLT The MaCWAVE program was conducted at the Norwegian And o ya Rocket Range ARR 69 3 r N in July 2002 and continued at the Swedish Rocket Range ESRANGE 67 9 r N during January 2003 Correlative instrumentation included the ALOMAR MF and MST radars and RMR and Na lidars ESRANGE MST and meteor radars and RMR lidar radiosondes and TIMED satellite measurements of thermal and constituent structures The data have been used to define the wave field structure fluxes and turbulence generation leading to forcing of the large-scale flow down to a description of small-scale turbulence In summer launch sequences coupled with ground-based measurements at ARR addressed the forcing of the summer mesopause environment by anticipated convective and shear generated gravity waves The summer program demonstrated that the mean state of the upper mesosphere was unusually warm slowing the formation of Polar Mesospheric Summer echoes PMSE and noctilucent clouds NLC The winter program was designed to study the upward propagation and penetration of mountain waves from northern Norway into the MLT at a site favored for such penetration As the major response was expected to be downstream east of Norway these motions were measured with rocket sequences and ground-based instrumentation

In southeastern Alaska, granodiorite-tonalite plutons of the Admiralty-Revillagigedo belt intruded the Jurassic-Cretaceous Gravina belt along the eastern side of the Alexander terrane around 90 Ma. These plutons postdate some deformation related to a major contractional event between the previously amalgamated Wrangellia and Alexander terranes and the previously accreted terranes of the North American margin. We studied the aureole mineral assemblages of these plutons near Petersburg, Alaska, determined pressure and temperature of equilibration, and examined structures that developed within and adjacent to these plutons. Parallelism of magmatic and submagmatic fabrics with fabrics in the country rock indicates synchroneity of pluton emplacement with regional deformation and suggests that magma transport to higher crustal levels was assisted by regional deformation. Replacement of andalusite by kyanite or sillimanite indicates crustal thickening soon after pluton emplacement. Regional structural analysis indicates the crustal thickening was accomplished by thrust burial. Thermobarometric analyses indicate the aureoles reached near-peak temperatures of 525 to 635 ??C at pressures of 570 to 630 MPa. Consideration of the rate of thermal decay of the aureoles suggests that burial was rapid and occurred at rates around 5 to 8 mm/year. Structural observations indicate there was contractional deformation before, during, and after emplacement of the 90-Ma plutons. Initial exhumation of the Admiralty-Revillagedo belt in the Petersburg area may have occurred along a thrust west of the pluton belt within the Gravina belt. ?? 2004 NRC Canada.

The Mars Relay Operations Service (MaROS) has been deployed by NASA's Mars Program Office and the Multimission Ground Systems and Services (MGSS) Project into mission operations to aid in the coordination of relay activities at Mars. This live system presents standardized interfaces and a centralized infrastructure to current and future participants in the Mars Relay Network for the purpose of reliably and securely exchanging and storing all relay-related planning and operations data. The initial development of this system leveraged over eight years of experience performing relay operations between the various spacecraft at Mars. Now, four years after its initial deployment, MaROS continues to undergo further refinement to better meet the needs of the Mars Relay Network. The most substantial, recent update was focused on providing capabilities needed by the Mars Science Laboratory project, which landed on Mars in August of 2012. This paper will describe the nature of that update and describe additional features being added to the system to better serve the needs of current and future Mars missions.

Motivation: Sharing genomic data is crucial to support scientific investigation such as genome-wide association studies. However, recent investigations suggest the privacy of the individual participants in these studies can be compromised, leading to serious concerns and consequences, such as overly restricted access to data. Results: We introduce a novel cryptographic strategy to securely perform meta-analysis for genetic association studies in large consortia. Our methodology is useful for supporting joint studies among disparate data sites, where privacy or confidentiality is of concern. We validate our method using three multisite association studies. Our research shows that genetic associations can be analyzed efficiently and accurately across substudy sites, without leaking information on individual participants and site-level association summaries. Availability and implementation: Our software for secure meta-analysis of genetic association studies, SecureMA, is publicly available at http://github.com/XieConnect/SecureMA. Our customized secure computation framework is also publicly available at http://github.com/XieConnect/CircuitService Contact: b.malin@vanderbilt.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:25147357

Optical imaging-based methods for assessing the membrane electrophysiology of in vitro human cardiac cells allow for non-invasive temporal assessment of the effect of drugs and other stimuli. Automated methods for detecting and analyzing the depolarization events (DEs) in image-based data allow quantitative assessment of these different treatments. In this study, we use 2-photon microscopy of fluorescent voltage-sensitive dyes (VSDs) to capture the membrane voltage of actively beating human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPS-CMs). We built a custom and freely available Matlab software, called MaDEC, to detect, quantify, and compare DEs of hiPS-CMs treated with the β-adrenergic drugs, propranolol and isoproterenol. The efficacy of our software is quantified by comparing detection results against manual DE detection by expert analysts, and comparing DE analysis results to known drug-induced electrophysiological effects. The software accurately detected DEs with true positive rates of 98-100% and false positive rates of 1-2%, at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of 5 and above. The MaDEC software was also able to distinguish control DEs from drug-treated DEs both immediately as well as 10min after drug administration.

A new statistical model is proposed for the geomagnetic secular variation over the past 5Ma. Unlike previous models, the model makes use of statistical characteristics of the present day geomagnetic field. The spatial power spectrum of the non-dipole field is consistent with a white source near the core-mantle boundary with Gaussian distribution. After a suitable scaling, the spherical harmonic coefficients may be regarded as statistical samples from a single giant Gaussian process; this is the model of the non-dipole field. The model can be combined with an arbitrary statistical description of the dipole and probability density functions and cumulative distribution functions can be computed for declination and inclination that would be observed at any site on Earth's surface. Global paleomagnetic data spanning the past 5Ma are used to constrain the statistics of the dipole part of the field. A simple model is found to be consistent with the available data. An advantage of specifying the model in terms of the spherical harmonic coefficients is that it is a complete statistical description of the geomagnetic field, enabling us to test specific properties for a general description. Both intensity and directional data distributions may be tested to see if they satisfy the expected model distributions.

UV-glass PMTs are often the limiting factor in a Cherenkov detector because of their poor quantum efficiency (QE) below 300nm due to the UV-glass transparency. The application of a p-Terphenyl wavelength shifter to the face of these PMTs dramatically improves the QE for short wavelengths, rivaling that of a much more expensive quartz PMT. This is especially interesting in the context of multi-anode (Ma) PMTs, which are supremely suited for application in future open-environment Cherenkov detectors at very high luminosities due to their small size, lower sensitivity to magnetic fields, and high potential for advanced background rejection due to their pixelization. This will become critical at Jefferson Lab entering the 12 GeV era, as well as for a future electron-ion collider both providing a high luminosity. We will discuss the process of coating the PMTs through vacuum evaporation, and the performance testing taking place at Temple University for Hamamatsu model H12700A-03 multi-anode PMTs as well the background rejection schemes that will be devised using these MaPMTs.

A description is given and a performance analysis presented of a novel pseudonoise (PN) code acquisition approach for the tracking and data relay satellite system (TDRSS) multiaccess (MA) return subsystem. The MA subsystem uses a phased array onboard the TDRS with 30 elements whose received signals are each independently retransmitted to the ground for beam forming. In the current operational system, acquisition is performed by using a serial search of the possible PN epochs on the beam-formed 30-element signal. The approach performs acquisition on a single (arbitrary) element signal using a parallel (i.e., simultaneous) search of all possible PN epochs. Since only one element signal is used, no beam forming is required prior to PN acquisition. The approach is based on sampling and digital processing of the received signal and incorporates techniques which counteract the effects of Doppler and asynchronous data symboling. The probability of correct acquisition as a function of acquisition time, signal-to-noise ratio, data rate, and user satellite Doppler is analyzed.

High value fruits namely, apple (cv. Royal Delicious), guava (cv. Baruipur) and litchi (cv. Shahi) harvested at their commercial maturity were considered for MA packaging to enhance storage life. Polymeric films namely LDPE, BOPP, PVC, PVDC of different thickness were used for MA packaging study and various film characteristics such as gas transmission rates, water vapour transmission rate, clarity, strength and durability were evaluated. Mathematical model was developed based on Arrhenius type equation to predict gas transmission rate (GTR) and the developed model was found to be very good fit with the mean relative deviation modulus value quite less than 10 %. The GTR of the films increased with the increase in storage temperature and the magnitude of the increase varied with the film type and thickness. Regression models have been suitably developed to predict the oxygen transmission rate and carbon dioxide transmission rate of selected polymeric films and combined film laminates as a function of temperatures. Since, none of the individual films could meet the gas transmission requirements of MAP for selected fruits, two different films were tailored to form laminates that sufficed the requirements for prolonged storage with maintaining original quality.

Sandia is modifying the PBFA II accelerator into a dual use facility. While maintaining the present ion-beam capability, we are developing a long-pulse, high-current operating mode for magnetically-driven implosions. This option, called PBFA II-Z, will require new water transmission lines, a new insulator stack, and new magnetically-insulated transmission lines (MITLs). Each of the existing 36, coaxial water pulse-forming sections will couple to a 4.5-{Omega}, bi-plate water-transmission line. The water transmission lines then feed a four-level insulator stack. The insulators are expected to operate at a maximum, spatially-averaged electric field of {approximately}l00 kV/cm. The MITL design is based on the successful biconic Saturn design. The four ``disk`` feeds will each have a vacuum impedance of {approximately}2.0 {Omega}. The disk feeds are added in parallel using a double post-hole convolute at a diameter of 15 cm. We predict that the accelerator will deliver 20 MA to a 15-mg z-pinch load in 100 ns, making PBFA II-Z the most powerful z-pinch driver in the world providing a pulsed power and load physics scaling testbed for future 40-80-MA drivers.

The fracture strength of green Minor Actinides (MA)-MOX pellets containing 75 wt.% DUO2, 20 wt. % PuO2, 3 wt. % AmO2 and 2 wt. % NpO2 was studied as a function of storage time, after mixing in the binder and before sintering, to test the effect of radiation damage on binders. Fracture strength degraded continuously over the 10 days of the study for all three binders studied: PEG binder (Carbowax 8000), microcrystalline wax (Mobilcer X) and Styrene-acrylic copolymer (Duramax B1022) but the fracture strength of Duramax B1022 degraded the least. For instance, for several hours after mixing Carbowax 8000 with MA MOX, the fracture strength of a pellet was reasonably high and pellets were easily handled without breaking but the pellets were too weak to handle after 10 days. Strength measured using diametral compression test showed strength degradation was more rapid in pellets containing 1.0 wt. % Carbowax PEG 8000 compared to those containing only 0.2 wt. %, suggesting that irradiation not only left the binder less effective but also reduced the pellet strength. In contrast the strength of pellets containing Duramax B1022 degraded very little over the 10 day period. It was suggested that the styrene portion of the Duramax B1022 copolymer provided the radiation resistance.

Melanins are enigmatic pigments and biological macromolecules that are produced by a wide variety of microorganisms including several species of bacteria and fungi. The present study was carried out on isolation and characterization of melanin from marine actinobacteria, Actinoalloteichus sp. MA-32. Medium composition and culture conditions for the melanin production by Actinoalloteichus sp. MA-32 were optimized using two statistical methods: Plackett-Burman design applied to find the key ingredients and conditions for the best yield of melanin production and central composite design used to optimize the concentration of the four significant variables: glycerol, L-tyrosine, NaCl and trace salt solution. The melanin was optimally active at pH 7-9 and temperature 45-60°C and it was most stable up to pH 11 and 4% of NaCl concentration. Melanin was examined by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and infrared spectrometry. Melanin has potential antibacterial activity as it showed greater antagonistic and it has a strong antioxidant potential observed in the in vitro evaluation of its DPPH radical-scavenging activity, superoxide radical-scavenging activity, nitric oxide-scavenging activity, reducing power and metal chelating activity. The observed activities indicate that melanin might be a novel potential antioxidant. This study suggested that the melanin could potentially be used as a natural antioxidant in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Viviparity evolved in bacteria, plants, ˃141 vertebrate lineages (ichthyosaurs, lizards, fishes, mammals, and others), and in 11 of 44 insect orders. Live-birth cockroaches preserved with brood sac (3D recovered two times optically) included Diploptera vladimir, Diploptera savba, Diploptera gemini spp.n., D. sp.1-2, and Stegoblatta irmgardgroehni from Green River, Colorado; Quilchena, Republic; McAbee, Canada; and Baltic amber, Russia (49, 54, and 45 Ma). They evolved from rare and newly evolved Blaberidae; they radiated circumtropically, later expanded into SE Asia, and have now spread to Hawaii and the SE USA. Association of autapomorphic characters that allow for passive and active protections from parasitic insects (unique wing origami pleating identical with its egg case-attacking wasp) suggest a response to high parasitic loads. Synchronized with global reorganization of the biota, morphotype destabilization in roaches lasted approximately 11-22 Ma, including both the adaptation of novel characters and the reduction of others. Thus, while viviparity can be disadvantageous, in association with new Bauplans and/or behaviors, it can contribute to the evolution of taxa with viviparous representatives that are slightly selectively preferred.

We report construction and initial testing of a 1-MA Linear Transformer Driver (LTD), The Michigan Accelerator for Inductive Z-pinch Experiments, (MAIZE). This machine, the first of its type to reach the USA, is based on the joint HCEI, Sandia Laboratories, and UM development effort. The compact LTD uses 80 capacitors and 40 spark gap switches, in 40 ``bricks'', to deliver 1 MA, 100 kV pulses with 70 ns risetime into a matched resistive load. Test results will be presented for a single brick and the full LTD. Design and construction will be presented of a low-inductance MITL. Experimental research programs under design and construction at UM include: a) Studies of Magneto-Raleigh-Taylor Instability of planar foils, and b) Vacuum convolute studies including cathode and anode plasma. Theory and simulation results will be presented for these planned experiments. Initial experimental designs and moderate-current feasibility experiments will be discussed. *Research supported by U. S. DoE through Sandia National Laboratories award document numbers 240985, 768225, 790791 and 805234 to the UM. MRG supported by NNSA Fellowship and JCZ supported by NPSC Fellowship / Sandia National Labs.

The efficiency with which galaxies convert gas into stars is driven by the continuous cycle of accretion and feedback processes within the circumgalactic medium. Extraplanar diffuse ionized gas (eDIG) can provide insights into the tumultuous processes that govern the evolution of galactic disks because eDIG emission traces both inflowing and outflowing gas. With the help of state-of-the-art, spatially-resolved spectroscopy from MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory), we developed a computational method to identify eDIG based on the strength of and spatial extent of optical emission lines for a diverse sample of 550 nearby galaxies. This sample includes roughly half of the MaNGA galaxies that will become publicly available in summer 2016 as part of the Thirteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We identified signatures of eDIG in 8% of the galaxies in this sample, and we found that these signatures are particularly common among galaxies with active star formation and inclination angles >45 degrees. Our analysis of the morphology, incidence, and kinematics of eDIG has important implications for current models of accretion and feedback processes that regulate star formation in galaxies. We acknowledge support from the Astrophysics REU program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the National Astronomy Consortium, and The Grainger Foundation.

The Pulsar Machine II (PuMa-II) is the new flexible pulsar processing back-end system at the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), specifically designed to take advantage of the upgraded WSRT. The instrument is based on a computer cluster running the Linux operating system, with minimal custom hardware. A maximum of 160 MHz analog bandwidth sampled as 8 × 20 MHz subbands with 8-bit resolution can be recorded on disks attached to separate computer nodes. Processing of the data is done in the additional 32 nodes allowing near real time coherent dedispersion for most pulsars observed at the WSRT. This has doubled the bandwidth for pulsar observations in general, and has enabled the use of coherent dedispersion over a bandwidth 8 times larger than was previously possible at the WSRT. PuMa-II is one of the widest bandwidth coherent dedispersion machines currently in use and has a maximum time resolution of 50 ns. The system is now routinely used for high-precision pulsar timing studies, polarization studies, single pulse work, and a variety of other observational work.

Background Selol is an oily mixture of selenitetriacylglycerides that was obtained as a semi-synthetic compound containing selenite. Selol is effective against cancerous cells and less toxic to normal cells compared with inorganic forms of selenite. However, Selol’s hydrophobicity hinders its administration in vivo. Therefore, the present study aimed to produce a formulation of Selol nanocapsules (SPN) and to test its effectiveness against pulmonary adenocarcinoma cells (A549). Results Nanocapsules were produced through an interfacial nanoprecipitation method. The polymer shell was composed of poly(methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic anhydride) (PVM/MA) copolymer. The obtained nanocapsules were monodisperse and stable. Both free Selol (S) and SPN reduced the viability of A549 cells, whereas S induced a greater reduction in non-tumor cell viability than SPN. The suppressor effect of SPN was primarily associated to the G2/M arrest of the cell cycle, as was corroborated by the down-regulations of the CCNB1 and CDC25C genes. Apoptosis and necrosis were induced by Selol in a discrete percentage of A549 cells. SPN also increased the production of reactive oxygen species, leading to oxidative cellular damage and to the overexpression of the GPX1, CYP1A1, BAX and BCL2 genes. Conclusions This study presents a stable formulation of PVM/MA-shelled Selol nanocapsules and provides the first demonstration that Selol promotes G2/M arrest in cancerous cells. PMID:25149827

The fracture strength of green Minor Actinides (MA)-MOX pellets containing 75 wt.% DUO2, 20 wt.% PuO2, 3 wt.% AmO2 and 2 wt.% NpO2 was studied as a function of storage time, after mixing with the binder and before sintering, to test the effect of radiation damage on binders. Fracture strength degraded continuously over the 10 days of the study for all three binders studied: PEG binder (Carbowax 8000), microcrystalline wax (Mobilcer X) and styrene-acrylic copolymer (Duramax B1022) but the fracture strength of Duramax B1022 degraded the least. For instance, for several hours after mixing Carbowax 8000 with MA-MOX, the fracture strength of a pellet was reasonably high and pellets were easily handled without breaking but the pellets were too weak to handle after 10 days. Strength measured using diametral compression test showed that strength degradation was more rapid in pellets containing 1.0 wt.% Carbowax PEG 8000 compared to those containing only 0.2 wt.%, suggesting that irradiation not only left the binder less effective but also reduced the pellet strength. In contrast the strength of pellets containing Duramax B1022 degraded very little over the 10 days period. It was suggested that the styrene portion present in the Duramax B1022 copolymer provided the radiation resistance.